I am amused and bemused to read of Chris B's declaration of Comhaltas In Britain's "endependence" (sic). Comhaltas In Britain is completely reliant on the funding they receive from Ireland. This reliance has increased over the past few years owing to the "apparent" mismanagement of funds allocated to them. There has been murmurs of overspending beyond belief - nobody knows what on. This black hole in Comhaltas UK's finances has meant that they are bailed out (presumably by Monkstown headquarters) in order to pay for staff and other associated costs. Once they receive the Emigrant Fund award (i.e. money from the Irish government), their loan debts are cleared but they are soon back to square one financially - which means another "loan" is taken out. A preposterous state of affairs and one which I hear is not going down too well with the Inland Revenue.