asked the Minister for Finance if the Government will reverse their decision of 1973 to have the entire state designated as a developing region in relation to the EEC Regional Fund and have the fund allocated to the disadvantaged areas of the west and north midlands to reduce the economic imbalance between these areas and the rest of the country.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - EEC Regional Fund.
13.
The treatment of the State as a single developing region in the Community context represents a recognition of the economic imbalance between the State as a whole and other more developed regions of the Community. This was one of the factors taken into account in the fixing of national quotas of the Regional Fund. Any action by the Government to exclude certain areas from the operation of the fund could be misconstrued and could prejudice our position in future reviews of the fund and in relation to other Community policies with regional aspects. The Government do not therefore propose to make any change in the decision referred to.
Allowing that the reasons given by the Minister are quite valid and despite designation of the entire country as undeveloped for the purposes of the Regional Fund, I should like to ask him if he would make greater efforts to ensure that the benefits of the fund go to where they are most necessary. That is not the case at present.
I cannot accept the implication in what the Deputy has just said. In 1978, which was the most recent year for which final figures are available, 60 per cent of Irish project approvals were for projects located in the designated areas. A conscious effort is made to try and ensure that the benefit from the fund will go, where the projects are suitable, to the designated areas.
Arising out of the Minister's reply, in regard to the suitability of projects, is it a fact that failure to put 100 per cent of the fund to areas most in need of it has largely been as a result of the lack of suitable projects for presentation and a suitable form of projects?
No. The reasoning behind seeking to have the State as a whole treated as a single unit and the maintenance of that position is as I indicated in the original reply. The Deputy is probably aware of the fact that in a number of cases there is either an official or unofficial quota for each country. Those quotas are frequently worked out on the basis of the population in the area concerned. There is not much doubt—this is only one of the reasons, there are others—that if we were to depart from the present system we would lose out overall as a unit within the Community.
Is the Minister aware that all the projects mentioned by him will suffer a severe cut-back as a result of the decision of the Council of Ministers to slash the Commission budget for the year 1980 under the regional heading?
I am not so aware.
The Minister was at the meeting which made the decision.
I was not because it is not my function.
How many budget councils has the Minister been at?
None. How many budget councils was the Minister for Finance in the Government of which Deputy FitzGerald was a member at? How many did he attend? How many Ministers for Finance from any Community country attends a budget council?
The record will show that it was attended by Ministers and not by Ministers of State. I attended on a number of occasions when crucial issues were involved.
(Interruptions.)
The record will show the exact opposite not only in regard to this country but in regard to the other member states. The fact is that Deputy O'Leary knows, despite his question, that there is a lot more yet to be done before the Regional Fund is finally fixed.
As far as the Council of Ministers is concerned, the Minister has cut it.
As far as the Council of Ministers is concerned the allocation for this year has been substantially increased over the allocation that was agreed at the previous summit and specified for this year by approximately 250 million units of account.
Is the Minister denying that the cash proposals for regional aid have been cut by the Council of Ministers. There is no use in the Minister trying to shrug off his responsibility.
(Interruptions.)
This is the equivalent of a Department submitting Estimates. In the early stage of the process of preparing the Book of Estimates the Commission submitted estimates. Deputy O'Leary, when he was Minister for Labour, submitted Estimates none of which he ever got. He is not unique; every Minister is in the same boat. It is precisely the same procedure and the Deputy should not try to misrepresent it.
This Government have signed their name to a cut in regional aid in the Council of Ministers and the Minister knows that.
The Deputy is misrepresenting the position.
(Interruptions.)
Is the Minister suggesting that the Commission's role is that of a Government Department here? Is he unaware that it has the sole power of initiative in deciding Community decisions? The Minister never heard of that, did he? It is just like a Government Department in the civil service?
If the Deputy cannot appreciate the analogy, I cannot help him.
I cannot help the Minister——
(Interruptions.)
Order. We are not having a debate on the EEC now. This is Question Time.
It is of much importance——
It is a larger increase than in the Deputy's time.
The Deputy is tempting us to have a go at the shocking performance of his Government in regard to the Regional Fund.
The Council of Ministers have agreed to cuts in regional aid and the Minister should not try and pretend——
(Interruptions.)
Order.
In relation to the question on the order paper—this other question would require a debate which I would love to participate in at some length—might I ask the Minister for Finance——
The Deputy had an opportunity in the European Parliament.
We will be returning to it.
Order.
Everybody is very touchy today. I should like to ask the Minister whether there are any steps he or the Government can take, regardless of whether or not the cuts are restored or how they are restored, to ensure that a greater part of the Regional Fund goes to the places it is most needed in and help reduce the widening gap between the less well off and the better off areas, which is alarming not only in this country but in every country in the Community.
I have already indicated that an effort is being made in this regard and the figures I have quoted indicate that some progress is being made.