asked the Minister for Finance the amount of money paid to the Exchequer from the EEC Regional Fund; if he will give details of the projects which have been grant-aided; if any of that money has been retained in the Exchequer; and what he proposes to do with such money if any.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - EEC Regional Fund.
1.
Receipts from the European Regional Development Fund since its establishment in 1975 to end-1982 amounted to IR£222 million. These receipts accrued to the Exchequer in part recoupment of Exchequer expenditure on infrastructural, industrial and other regional development work. The regional fund receipts allowed a greater overall volume of resources to be applied to regional development work than would otherwise have been possible. There is no question of any money having been retained by the Exchequer.
Receipts from the fund have been applied as follows:
|
IR£ |
|
|
Telecommunications |
|
|
Development |
81 million |
|
Industrial Development Programme |
55 million |
|
Road Development |
35 million |
|
Water Supply & Sewerage Programmes |
34 million |
|
Harbour Development |
8 million |
|
Regional Technical Colleges |
4 million |
|
Arterial Drainage |
3 million |
|
Special Border Areas Programme |
2 million |
|
TOTAL |
222 million |
Is the Minister aware that many county councils, both managers and members, are not aware of the money being made available to them? Would the Minister have this matter looked into and make the councils aware, in time, of the money available?
As suggested in the reply, the funds from the regional development fund are not transmitted direct to local authorities, although the local authorities are involved in projects for which regional fund money is used. The technique of transmission is that the regional fund allocation goes direct to the Exchequer in part recoupment of the costs of the investment to the Exchequer. There is no direct link between the regional fund itself and any one of the local authorities, or any one of the specific projects qualifying for aid.
Is the Minister aware that it is giving cause for concern both at home and in Europe, that the funding being made available is not at present as visible as it should be?
I appreciate the point made by the Deputy. However, as I said, the technique now used for the application of regional fund money in this country is that it is in part recoupment of the Exchequer contribution to the expenditure on specific projects. It is not until the Exchequer (a) has decided to fund part of a project and (b) presents a programme each year to the regional fund authorities that the allocation of regional fund moneys as between projects in this country can be established.
Would the Minister let the local authorities know the exact proportion of the allocation from the EEC? Is the Minister aware that much of this money is additional money in the western and Border counties and that in some instances there is no evidence that there is any additional money coming, particularly to the Border counties, as a result of EEC funding?
The first point I would make is that, to the end of 1982, our total receipts from the regional fund have been £222 million — that is £222 million worth of capital injection into projects here which would not have taken place otherwise. It has been in addition to the amount of money that the Exchequer would have made available. We should also be aware of the different procedures which are followed for different parts of the operation. In the last couple of days, Deputies will remember that we have had quite a deal of discussion about the Special Border Areas Programme where there is a separate identification of the projects in question there because of the particular structure used.
My final point is that when the regional fund authorities make their decision on the allocation of funds, a schedule is issued of the projects which are being aided and the amount of money made available to those projects. Therefore, the information is there.
I am moving on to the next question.
This is a final supplementary. Local authorities are not receiving any great additional amount of money as a result——
A question, Deputy, please.
—— of this EEC funding. Is the Minister aware of that and would he let the local authorities know the proportion of the money which comes from EEC funding? In my own county and the Ceann Comhairle's own constituency, the amount of money say, for the local improvements scheme, has not even kept abreast of the cost of living. It is supposed to be funded out of the western package. I would ask the Minister if he would let the local authorities know what proportion of the allocation is EEC funding.
Mr. Leonard
To get back to that western package, I ask the Minister specifically to look at the local improvements scheme which we discussed last month at a county council meeting. He will find that we are not getting the £.78 million — almost £¾ million, which was made available over a ten-year period, out of the £300 million allocation for aid. We are satisfied that that has not been paid.
A question, Deputy, please.
Mr. Leonard
That has not been paid additional to the normal allocation. I ask the Minister to examine that area alone.
I would be just as anxious as the Deputies that the contribution from the regional fund to specific projects be made as transparent as possible. Indeed, the European Commission share that anxiety. The difficulties in making anything crystal clear vary as between one project and another. For example, for a major road improvement, of which we have had a number, financed with the assistance of the regional fund, it is possible to say what proportion of the cost has been funded with moneys made available through the regional fund. For other schemes — and probably the local improvements scheme is an example — it is much more difficult to say, because there is a global allocation for a series of different schemes. The fact remains that the regional fund moneys are in addition to what would otherwise be available through the Exchequer. It is not true to say that local authorities, or indeed the promoters of other schemes, are not getting the benefit of regional fund moneys. They are getting extra funding which would not be available were it not for the regional fund.