Vol. 422 No. 4
49 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Minister for Finance if he will have any consultations with the Northern Ireland authorities with a view to preparing a joint operation programme for the whole island of Ireland for assistance from the EC Structural Funds.
I would like to refer the Deputy to my speech in the Dáil during the recent debate on the Private Member's motion proposed by him on this subject. In line with the motion passed by the Dáil I have asked officials in my Department to discuss with their counterparts in Northern Ireland the adoption of a co-ordinated approach to our submissions to the EC Commission in respect of the Structural Funds 1994-97. In preparing their proposals for the National Development Plan Government Departments have been asked to identify areas lending themselves to cross-Border co-operation.
The joint Ireland-Northern Ireland INTERREG Programme, though not covering the full island of Ireland, is a joint operational programme and is administered jointly by the Authorities in Ireland and Northern Ireland. I will be supporting the continuation of this type of initiative in the 1994-97 period.
