Written Answers. - EC Initiatives.
John Bruton
Question:
76
Mr. J. Bruton
asked the
Minister for Enterprise and Employment
the aid received in Ireland under each of the Community Initiatives, PRISMA, EUROFORM, NOW and HORIZON, both in terms of the results achieved and the amounts of money received; if Ireland has not received aid under these initiatives; and if not, the reason therefor.
The four Community initiatives, EUROFORM, NOW, HORIZON and PRISMA between them have been approved for Structural Fund aid of £38.2 million up to the end of 1994. EUROFORM, NOW and HORIZON are human resources community initiatives receiving European Social Fund aid and PRISMA is an infrastructure initiative in receipt of European Regional Development Fund aid.
All the projects under these initiatives source the matching funding to draw down aid.
EUROFORM concerns the development of new skills, new qualifications and new employment opportunities on a transnational basis. Sixty five projects have been approved and they will fully draw down the £10.6 million European Social Funding available. By the end of June 1993, 6,199 people were receiving training under EUROFORM (1,133 trainers and 5,066 trainees) on projects which are piloting new approaches to training in the area of new skills, new qualifications and new employment opportunities. At this stage it is already possible to see results from the EUROFORM initiative. New qualifications have been approved in a number of cases and the intention is to transfer the training developed to mainline provision after the end of the Euroform funding.
In other cases, training organisations are working with private companies. This ensures the development of training relevant to the needs of industry. However, most projects are at an earlier stage of development and their objectives will be delivered at the end of 1993 or in early 1994.
NOW aims to promote equal opportunities for women in the field of employment and vocational training on projects also with a transnational dimension. The total EC contribution under NOW is £4.7 million. Thirty three projects have been approved for funding, many of which are being implemented by voluntary organisations who would not previously have had access to EC funds. Many of these projects will not finish until the end of 1994, but some have already been successful in achieving their objectives of piloting new approaches to the training of women. At the end of the current NOW funding period, 2,122 women will have received training. A further 6,000 women will benefit from the advice and guidance services provided under the initiative.
HORIZON provides Structural Funds for innovative projects aimed at assisting the disabled and the disadvantaged. The programme seeks to facilitate the social and economic integration of its participants into the labour market in particular and society in general. Transnational partnerships are an essential feature of this initiative also and the Structural Fund allocation is £15.5 million. Ninety-four projects are now operative and some will carry on activity until the end of December 1994. Most of the organisations receiving funding are voluntary or community based. Already jobs have been created within implementing agencies and as a result of enterprises funded under the programme. In June 1993, 2,055 people were being trained and over 300 people were receiving work experience or being supported in new enterprises.
PRISMA is an initiative supporting a range of infrastructural developments in both the public and private sectors and is covering a range of activities. Twenty projects have been approved and they will fully draw down the £7.4 million European Regional Development Fund funding available up to end 1993. The projects range from the ESB's development of a pan-European database on public procurement contracts and the modernisation of the Legal Metrology Service at my Department to co-financing the upgrading of several commercial calibration laboratories and the development of a computer aided knitting design classroom.
The PRISMA Programme is being closely supervised by my Department and its results will be examined in detail in the early months of 1994.
