Vol. 387 No. 9
asked the Minister for Finance if he will consider direct representation for the Combat Poverty Agency or other community welfare groups on the advisory committees and monitoring committees which are to be involved in regional planning for support by Europe.
33.
asked the Minister for Finance the plans, if any, he has to establish on a formalised and permanent basis the working groups for the review of subregions established to prepare Ireland's application to the EC Structural Funds; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 20 and 33 together. I do not intend to alter the membership of the advisory groups at this late stage in the preparation of the development plan and programmes for EC Structural Funds. The arrangements to be adopted for monitoring implementation of the programmes are still under consideration. I cannot say yet how the working groups and the advisory groups will fit into these arrangements.
Will the Minister say why the Departments of Health and Social Welfare and the Combat Poverty Agency have not been involved in consultations regarding the projections for Social Fund expenditure?
The Combat Poverty Agency are a statutory body and an agency of the Department of Social Welfare. If they were to be involved in the preparation of programmes their appropriate role would be as a member of the working group. However, only the Departments concerned with economic development are represented on the working group. The Department of Social Welfare is not one of those Departments and, therefore, it would be inappropriate to include the Combat Poverty Agency in the process.
Will the Minister agree he has made an extraordinary statement? How can he justify the exclusion of the Department of Social Welfare and the Department of Health from consultations regarding the social fund allocations?
Does the Deputy understand the meaning of Structural Funds? Somebody has to develop the economy to give the Department of Social Welfare——
I regard it as extraordinary.
If the Deputy gets to Europe I hope he will read about what these funds are supposed to do, which is improving the economy to create wealth, to pay for social welfare and health.
Deputy Desmond applied shock treatment in his time.
Will the Minister agree that it would be beneficial from the point of view of the 10,000 tenants of Dublin Corporation who live in very poor housing conditions — and the 2,000 people who do not have bathrooms — if the Combat Poverty Agency put their case for Structural Funds?
It is open to the Combat Poverty Agency and community groups to send in a submission to their own advisory groups or directly to the Department concerned. I have said that many times and many community groups and organisations have responded in that manner.
That disposes of questions for today.
