asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the number of places in Ireland which have been visited by the EEC Regional Commissioner and if he has any proposals to visit the north-west in the future.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - EEC Regional Commissioner's Visit.
23.
Mr. George Thomson, the Commissioner for Regional Policy, visited Dublin on 22nd/23rd February, 1973, when he had discussions on Community regional policy with members of the then Government and Opposition. He had hoped to visit other parts of Ireland, including the west, in July but his visit has been postponed until a later date. The itinerary for this visit has not yet been established.
As the Deputy is no doubt aware, Commissioner Thomson visited Belfast, Derry and other places in the North in May last and had discussions with various groups.
Would the Minister state who decides what regions will benefit under the EEC regional policy? As far as I am aware, it is the national Government. Also for the record, would he state how much we will get from the regional fund in the current financial year?
One must distinguish between the initial decision as to which areas of the Community are those to which the application of regional policy is appropriate. That is a decision the Community can make in the light of the views expressed by the Irish Government. The Deputy will be aware that in relation to a related matter, that of competition policy and State aids, the Community has decided that the whole of Ireland should be a peripheral area and a similar outcome is to be anticipated in regard to regional policy, I believe. As regards the provision of funds, it is up to us in this country to seek the support and assistance of the regional fund for projects and as the whole country is a peripheral region for the purposes of the fund, those projects could be in any part of the country but the policy of the Government is to seek particularly the development of the west and north-west and, therefore, the bulk of applications will probably relate to those regions. It is a matter for us to put forward projects and seek assistance from the fund when established. As regards the amount of money this year, the fund has not yet been established. The Deputy will know that the European Commission met yesterday and, according to newspaper reports, took a decision on proposals to be put forward to the Council of Ministers. I am not yet aware what these proposals are; they will come up for decision by the Council later this year. The policy will be put into effect, as I understand it, on 1st January next so that within the present calendar year there will be no assistance.
Was this not discussed at the Council of Ministers' meeting last Monday? There has been a good deal of press speculation about Ireland not getting a fair share of this fund.
No. The Deputy is confused about this. What happened was that on the occasion when the Council was meeting Press reports in this country suggested that a proposal being put to the Commission on Wednesday after the Council meeting would be in some way unfavourable to Ireland. I was in Brussels at the time and thought it proper to issue a Press statement making quite clear in advance of the Commission's meeting what the Irish attitude would be, should there be any truth in the Press reports.
It seemed to me that that should be made clear, even in advance of the Commission meeting. The Council itself was not dealing with this problem in any form. It dealt with related matters of the social fund and agricultural fund but not this.
I should like to ask the Minister whether it is now clear that, whatever may be the decision in regard to the amount of money from the fund, it will come to this country through the Government agencies? Does the Minister's statement mean that there will be no more emphasis on the development in the west and north-west relative to the more prosperous parts of the country in the past? What I want to know is whether the Minister's Government, with the aid of the moneys which may come from the regional funds of the EEC, will give greater emphasis to the development in the west and north-west than has heretofore been accorded to it?
The Government will give greater emphasis than was given previously to the west and the north-west. There will be particular regard to this in the application of the regional fund.
The Minister should not forget Cavan and Monaghan.
Will the Minister ensure that the Commissioner, or his advisers, are invited to visit the north-west to see the problem at first hand?
The Commissioner was invited but he did not come.
I am sure the Minister will agree that this is the proper time that the west of Ireland should not be still seen through Dublin eyes.
I have no doubt at all about the desirability of the Commissioner and other officials visiting the west and the north-west. There are two stages in this, however. The first is to decide on the size of the fund and the share coming to the region which in our case is the whole of the country. Secondly, it is a matter for us then to apply for assistance from the fund within any limits that may be set. There may be no limits set for this country but it will be a matter for us to ensure that those applications are designed primarily for the benefit of the west and north-west. With a view to ensuring a fuller understanding by the Commission of the need for favourable response to these kind of applications, we would regard it as important that the Commissioner and his officials should be familiar with the conditions in the west and north-west. Indeed, some of those officials have already been in those areas.
Did I gather from the Minister's last statement, and a previous one, that the bulk of this fund will be spent in the north-west and the west of the country?
That is a matter for decision. There are three factors. One is the projects which arise in these areas, the proposals put forward by people in these areas for work to be done there that would be beneficial and give employment; secondly, the support of the Government of the day for those projects and, thirdly, the decision of the European Community institutions as to the value of particular projects. All these three elements are necessary and I stress that because it would be unfortunate if the impression got around that the people in the west and north-west can sit back and wait for the money to come.
(Interruptions.)
The Chair is calling the next question. A big number of supplementaries have been asked on this matter.
No preference for the west or the north-west?
I answered that question in the affirmative.
I should like to know if a time limit has been set for these projects?
The time for putting in projects has not yet come.