FOUR sick children, representing the Share A Dream Foundation, will present a petition at the National Lottery office in Lower Abbey Street, Dublin, today, seeking Lottery funding for the organisation.
The Share A Dream Foundation, which fulfils the wishes of terminally ill and handicapped children in Ireland, has been refused Lottery funding because of inadequate funds.
Mr Shay Kinsella, the founder of the Share A Dream Foundation, said that the decision to approach the National Lottery directly was taken by the parents of some of the children helped by the foundation.
"If we even knew how to go about getting Lottery money, then that would be a help," said Mr Kinsella.
"Just let us know how we apply, who exactly is in control and who has the money.
The move follows closely on the announcement that the Government committee to examine the procedures for National Lottery funding is expected to be established in the coming weeks.
According to a spokesman for the Department of Finance, the committee, headed by an independent chairman, will examine the process of application for funds and complaints made about the procedure. The commitment to set up the committee was contained in the Government's Programme of Renewal.
The decision to make the funding procedures more accessible has been welcomed by Ms Helen Keogh TD, the Progressive Democrats' spokeswoman on Equality and Law Reform. "Many charities face a day to day battle in trying to source funding from the Lottery," she said. "Voluntary groups find it difficult to plan ahead, or to budget, in these circumstances.
She remained critical of the cap on charity prize funds, describing it as a "crazy law". Currently, the maximum prize fund which can be offered by charities is £10000.
The chief executive of Rehab Lotteries, Mr John McGuire described the cap as "totally unjust and unfair". He said charities could not run attractive lotteries of their own with the cap in place.
An independent report commissioned by the National Lottery earlier this year concluded that its activities had no negative effect on charity fund raising. According to the Assessment of the Economic Impact of the National Lottery by economic consultants Davy Kelleher McCarthy, only 3 per cent of the money spent with the National Lottery would otherwise have gone to charity. Last year, over £300 million was spent on the Lottery.
Earlier this year, Rehab reported a drop of 50 per cent in its annual lottery sales since the National Lottery was established in 1987.
Mr Maguire said the rollover jackpot of recent weeks had seriously affected the fund raising activities of charities.
"In a week where there is a rollover jackpot you can't get a quid from anywhere," he said. "Our lottery tickets are having a hard time of it and anybody who is out rattling a can won't do well this week.
Saturday's Lottery jackpot is now heading for £7 million, after a winner failed to materialise on Wednesday night.