Vol. 416 No. 6
89 Mr. D. Ahern asked the Minister for Finance if he will impress on the officials of the EC Commission the need for more fundamental aid in addition to INTERREG Funds in Border areas with the advent of 1992 such as the actual decentralisation of parts of the Commission bureaucracy to Border areas such as north Louth, and if he will make a statement on the matter.
The joint Ireland and Northern Ireland INTERREG programme involves EC aid of £58 million from the three Structural Funds and will make a valuable contribution to overcoming the special problems of the Border areas both in the context of the completion of the internal market of 1992 and in the context of their relative isolation within the country. Furthermore the Border areas, like the rest of Ireland, benefit from the Community Support Framework through which the EC Structural Funds support programmes geared to preparing for Ireland's entry into the Single Market as well as furthering the general aim of improving economic and social cohesion within the Community.
I have sought and will continue to seek a substantial increase in the aid from the Structural Funds to be made available to Ireland when the current arrangements expire at the end of 1993.
The issue of the location of institutions and specialised agencies of the EC in the various member states has been the subject of discussion in the Community. This discussion has concentrated on the choice of member state for the site of new specialised agencies and the choice of a permanent seat for the European Parliament. The Government are of course seeking to have new EC agencies located in peripheral countries such as Ireland.
