Moreover, Mierau had counted on extra money from the ‘debt of honor’ pot; the 22 billion in government money that the province of Groningen receives as compensation for all the earthquake misery. In the government’s response to the report of the parliamentary committee of inquiry, Lifelines is explicitly mentioned as a project where money goes.
Mierau: “The cabinet response states that the cabinet additional invests in Lifelines. There is also no amount mentioned; only a total amount of 330 million for six projects.”
When asked, a VWS spokesperson says that there really will be no additional money, in addition to the promised 15 million. “This is not extra, at least not on top of the proposed VWS contribution to Lifelines of 15 million for the new subsidy period (for which we await the application).”
Lifelines can continue with the newly pledged money, but it is not enough to realize the ambitions. Ideally, Lifelines will supplement the group of participants with young people, so that Lifelines remains a good reflection of the population. This is because about 20 percent of the participants drop out per research round, so that no more than 100,000 of the original 167,000 participants are now left.
A total of 34 million is needed to restore this level; So the Ministry is not going that far. “With this money we can at least see the people who are still participating in the fourth round, which will be about 75,000.”