asked the Minister for Finance the reason the European Regional Development Fund allocation to Donegal County Council has been reduced from £200,000 in 1982 to £80,000 in 1983.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Border Areas Aid.
14.
I presume the Deputy is referring to the Special Border Areas Programme Fund which is being aided by the non-quota section of the European Regional Development Fund.
I would refer the Deputy to my reply to Deputy O'Hanlon on 9 March 1983 when I stated that there was an unexpended balance of IR£2.4 million in the Special Border Areas Programme Fund at the end of 1982. Of this amount, IR£189,672 is available to Donegal County Council. With the additional allocation of IR£80,000 provided in 1983, the total amount available for Donegal County Council in 1983 is IR£269,672. In the years 1981 and 1982 combined expenditure on projects by the county council amounted to about £162,000.
Would the Minister accept that Donegal County Council have not been informed of anything in addition to £80,000 and would he furthermore accept that in October-November of last year the Department advised Donegal County Council to anticipate £200,000 for 1983 and that they should make plans accordingly? As far as Donegal County Council are aware, would he accept that they have been advised that there is only £80,000 available?
The position regarding Donegal County Council is as follows: In 1982, a provision of £352,000 was made for the county council, of which £162,000 — in round figures — was spent, leaving £189,672 as a balance unexpended in 1982, which is brought forward into 1983. That, together with the £80,000 allocated for 1983, brings the total available to the county council for this year to £269,672. That is the actual position as far as the allocation to Donegal County Council is concerned.
I will bring the good tidings to Donegal County Council, because they have not yet been advised about it. Arising out of that, if there are proposals to rationalise the ERDF — and this is with the Council of Ministers — at that meeting if there are such proposals ——
A question, Deputy, please.
Would he, on behalf of the people of Donegal, suggest that it is not necessary to go through the member state, that we in Donegal are prepared to pay pound for pound as against their money? Would he put the case for us on that basis, rather than putting it through the member state?
I appreciate the Deputy's suggestion. If Deputy Gallagher and, indeed, anybody else, has specific proposals to make as to how we might re-jig the operation of the Regional Development Fund, I would be happy to hear those proposals. The situation as of now is that money is still not made available to an individual project. Funding from the Regional Development Fund depends on the member state in question providing part of the funding themselves, so that it is not normally done on a specific project by project basis but on the basis of a certain number of projects put up by the member state in question.
The situation in relation to the Border areas fund is slightly different, as I explained in the last few days in response to questions from other Deputies.
That question relates to cross-Border co-operation. Would the Minister agree that it would be important to reactivate the cross-Border activity which took place under the last administration where——
This question deals only with County Donegal.
The cross-Border area of Donegal, Derry and Strabane is probably the blackest area for unemployment in the country. Recently, at a meeting a Minister from another jurisdiction who has responsibility for a particular part of this island suggested that there did not seem to be the same commitment from the present Coalition Government to prosper cross-Border co-operation when they were not prepared to nominate a Minister for special responsibility in that area. Would the Minister make that recommendation to the Cabinet?
I cannot take any responsibility for views or opinions expressed by Ministers of another jurisdiction. Perhaps the Deputy will let me know privately who is involved, because whoever he is, he has got the wrong end of the stick.
Does the Minister mean that he has no use for him?
A final supplementary question from Deputy Gallagher, who put down the question.
Could I ask the Minister, without being cynical about this, if we in Donegal could ensure that more than £269,000 would be spent this year in breaking down the £352,000 provided by the Fianna Fáil administration last year as against the £80,000 provided by the Coalition administration this year, would he match pound for pound the difference between——
The Deputy cannot make a speech. Undoubtedly, he will have plenty of fora on which to make his speech.
Will the Minister make up the shortfall between the amount provided by Fianna Fáil and by the Coalition administration, if we can assure the Minister that there will be enough projects to spend all this money?
The Deputy is being very contentious in the way in which he quotes the first part of his question. He knows as well as I do that there is a five-year programme governing this Border area, with the funding laid out in advance. The Deputy is also aware that, of the funds provided last year, over half were not expended by Donegal County Council.
Why?
The Deputy is also aware that the proportion of the funding going to projects specifically promoted by the county councils is only a part of the total funding, because other bodies are involved also.
Just one supplementary on that——
I am sorry, Deputy——
It is relevant to what the Minister said and arises out of his reply——
It may be relevant, I do not dispute that, but we have had too many supplementaries.
If moneys are allocated to a local authority from the Regional Fund and are not spent in the current year can the Minister say are the local authority entitled to spend them in the next year or does the money revert to the Exchequer?
That is clear from my reply because, as I pointed out, of the total available to Donegal County Council for this year of £269,672, £189,672 consist of a balance brought forward from last year.
Will the Minister please answer Question No. 15?