Vol. 380 No. 8
asked the Minister for Finance if County Kerry is included in the Greater Cork Area for the purpose of receiving the benefit of the reform of the structural funds arising from the recent Summit in Brussels; the work which has been done in the preparation of a programme for this area; and when he expects an application to be made to the EC in this regard.
21.
asked the Minister for Finance the preparations which are being made for the establishment of appropriate regional structures for planning, in the light of the references to cohesion in the Single European Act and the imminence of an integrated market by 1992.
35.
asked the Minister for Finance the steps, if any, the Government is taking to facilitate the drawing up of integrated programmes for applications under the new EC structural funds.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 18, 21 and 35 together.
The new arrangements for the EC Structural Funds are still at the drawing board stage in Brussels. A series of detailed Regulations have to be put in place, which are not expected to be finalised until the end of the year. We propose, however, to go ahead with our preparations without waiting for all of the details to be completed and to be ready to submit our proposals for drawing on the increased resources which will be available as soon as possible after the new system comes into operation.
A major implication of the new system is that a national development plan must be drawn up for Ireland in respect of the expenditure areas covered by the Structural Funds. This plan will set out the priorities which Ireland will concentrate on in the period to 1992. On the basis of this plan, the Community will indicate the amount of support which it is willing to provide to Ireland over the period. Subsequent to the national plan, a series of operational programmes will have to be developed spelling out in more detail how we are going to implement the plan. This is likely to be a mix of national programmes (for example for roads) and geographically based programmes.
The Government are considering what special administrative arrangements may be needed to meet these new Community requirements. As the Deputies will be aware, the Taoiseach has already indicated that there will be close consultation with the social partners under the Programme for National Recovery.
Work is already going ahead in relation to preparing programmes. A steering committee for a programme for the Dublin area have already been established, including representation from the local authorities and the private sector. It is envisaged that the programme approach will be extended as soon as possible throughout the country.
The question of the definition of the area to be covered by the programmes for greater Cork and the west is under consideration at Government in the context of our overall approach to the EC Structural Funds. The inclusion of Kerry in the programme for the greater Cork area will be considered in that context.
