Vol. 522 No. 2
422 Mr. Rabbitte asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation when his Department will reply to the request from a company (details supplied) in Dublin 24 for clarification as to the way in which the application process for the planned URBAN II programme will proceed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18022/00]
423 Mr. Rabbitte asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation if, in regard to the proposed URBAN II programme, there will be an open tendering process as there was with URBAN I or if an area or areas will be selected by the Government; if his attention has been drawn to concerns that the absence of a tendering process could lead to difficulties when the selected areas are submitted for approval by the Commission; if, in view of the fact that criteria were published by the EU over a month ago, and that the deadline for applications to Brussels is now less than five months away, he will take early steps to clarify the Department's plans in regard to URBAN II; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18023/00]
424 Mr. C. Lenihan asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation if he will address the concerns of the South Dublin Urban Initiative (details supplied) with regard to clarity on the application process for URBAN II funding. [18049/00]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 422 to 424, inclusive, together.
In accordance with the EU Commission guidelines, only one area in Ireland will benefit from support under the new URBAN II Initiative, with a maximum population of 20,000. The process of identifying potential candidate investment areas is already under way, in consultation with relevant agencies which are in a position to bring their expertise and experience to the process. It is intended that appropriate consultation will take place subsequently with the relevant local authorities in an effort to identify the areas with the potential and capacity to best take advantage of the support available through URBAN II. The Government will make the final decision as to the most appropriate site, in accordance with the criteria laid down in the guidelines.
