asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will circulate the documents submitted by the Government to the European Economic Community on the matter of Government policy on regional development.
7.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Regional Development.
6.
asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the contents of the documents submitted to the European Economic Community by the Irish delegation indicating the general direction and the instruments of the Irish regional programmes.
While memoranda submitted to the Community are, as Conference documents, confidential, it will be recalled that I circulated to Deputies during the negotiations copies of statements and detailed summaries which contained the essence of the case we put to the Community in regard to regional and national economic development. These documents are available in the Dáil Library.
Is the Minister not aware that of all the policies being pursued by the EEC countries the regional policy is the most important in relation to our future development? Under the regional policy our policy on land reform and industrial development will be determined and it is very important that the Government should state quite clearly where we stand in relation to a regional development policy for Ireland. This has not been done to date.
In the negotiations at almost every session I stated quite clearly how important regional policy will be for Ireland. As the Deputy knows, we have a protocol for Ireland which treats Ireland in a special way in terms of the Community. Since then, at meetings at which it could be done, we have repeatedly stressed to the Community the importance of the development of regional policy. This is becoming a more urgent matter because of the movements towards monetary and economic union. I agree with the Deputy that regional policy in the Community is of vital interest to this country.
Would the Minister not agree that it is very important that the Government should state the general outline of the proposed regional policy in relation to all of Ireland?
Of our own national regional policy?
Yes, Government policy.
There are documents in the Library which I presented to the Community. There are slight alterations to them because a document as presented to the Community becomes a confidential document. The essence of what I had in those documents was put in another document which is in the Library of the House and was circulated to Deputies.
There is no regional policy except a national regional policy.