asked the Minister for Education, in view of the lack of development from the European Regional Development Fund in Counties Cavan, Leitrim and Monaghan, compared with the rest of the country, if she will have approaches made to the EC to provide a Development Officer with back-up services similar to that which was funded in County Donegal, that is in the North-West Community Development Institute for that region.
Written Answers. - Development Office Appointment.
91.
The North West Community Development Institute is managed by a sub-committee of County Donegal VEC. It is responsible for a community development project designed to test the effectiveness of approaches to community development in rural areas. Its director is a member of the VEC's staff on secondment from Letterkenny RTC. The institute is responsible for meeting the costs of the project which provides training for 100 people under the age of 25. An application for assistance from the European Social Fund was made through my Department. The European Commission agreed to meet 55 per cent of an agreed level of expenditure for a period of two years up to 30 June 1989. The balance of the expenditure will be met by the institute from it's own resources.
At the end of the experimental period an evaluation of the project will be carried out. In the meantime any further approaches to the EC for assistance for projects of this nature would not be entertained by the Commission due to the fact that support for this project was granted on a pilot basis pending evaluation of its outcome.