Details of the People in Need Telethon 2000, which includes the return of Gay Byrne to RTE for the "fund-raising extravaganza" next May, were announced to corporate donors by the chairman of the People in Need Trust, Mr Matt McNulty, at Dublin Castle yesterday.
"Both RTE and Eircom along with a host of other corporate donors have all given generously of their time and resources in order to help those people less fortunate than themselves," said the Minister for Tourism, Sport, and Recreation, Dr McDaid, who hosted the lunch along with the directors of People in Need.
Donors heard that the televised fund-raising event has raised £16 million since its inception in 1988, the year of Dublin's millennium celebrations.
"In the year 2000 we will have our best telethon yet, ensuring that we break the £5 million mark," said Mr McNulty.
People in Need allocates donations to the county in which they were collected, and to date this has included 4,126 donations to a range of organisations.
More than 500,000 people "from schoolchildren to corporate donors" have been directly involved in over 15,000 fundraising events since 1988, according to the People in Need trust.
Ms Martina Monks, principal of St Columba's School and Day Care Centre for Travellers, which has received £30,000 in grants from People in Need since 1990, said the funds enabled them to purchase remedial resources, books, software and play area, office and kitchen equipment.