asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food the benefits which will accrue to Irish agriculture from the recently announced Regional Fund up to 1993; the amount of finance which will be available for the structural aspects of Irish agriculture under the various subheads; and the recoupment of money from the EC which has been negotiated.
Ceisteanna — Questions. Oral Answers. - Regional Fund Allocations.
49.
The European Regional Development Fund provides assistance for general economic development measures and is not the responsibility of my Department. Assistance for agriculture is provided from the guidance section of the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund and to a lesser extent from the European Social Fund. I am unable to provide details of the amounts of funding which will be available for individual measures in advance of the conclusion of negotiations with the Commission on the Community support framework. However, the Deputy will recall that earlier this year I negotiated as a special concession in advance of the Community support framework an agreement with the Commission on the introduction of the operational programme relating to the protection and conservation of the rural environment through the control of farmyard pollution.
Unfortunately, the Minister seems to have evaded the answer to my question. As far as the £3 billion Regional Fund is concerned, which the Government seem to have negotiated——
It is not the Regional Fund.
——is agriculture included in that fund? If so, how much is allocated to agriculture and over what period of time?
The Deputy is referring not to the Regional Fund but to the total Structural Funds which cover three areas — the Regional Development Fund, which he mentioned in his question, the Social Fund and the FEOGA Guidance Fund. Let me assure the Deputy that of course submissions have been made by the Government in regard to the FEOGA guidance fund for which I am responsible, and as I indicated earlier, that matter has not been concluded yet. I assure the Deputy that there is a sizeable proportion of the total Structural Fund in the Government submission for FEOGA guidance.
May I ask the Minister——
A brief question, Deputy Connaughton. I want to dispose of the other four questions within the prescribed time.
I appreciate that. So far as funding from the National Exchequer for the past two or three years is concerned, is it likely that more funding will be made available from the Exchequer in the next three years to match the FEOGA Guidance Fund? That is what I am trying to find out.
That is not what the Deputy asked in the question. I assure him that with regard to the applications for all European funds, and in particular for this one, we have been trying to maximise the benefit that we can get from these funds and they, of course, must be matched by Exchequer funds.
Depending on recoupment.
Of course.