I propose to answer Questions Nos. 1 and 2 together.
My Department has the co-ordinating responsibility for the local development programme for which a provision of £1,263 million was included in the National Development Plan. My Department has direct responsibility for the disadvantaged areas element of the programme and for the Community Employment Programme, formerly CEDP-SES, in so far as it relates to the areas designated as disadvantaged under the local development programme.
Discussions are expected to be completed with the European Commission on the Community Support Framework by the end of this month. The framework will set out the broad national and sectoral strategies to be funded from the Structural Funds. The pro-rata adjustments proposed by the Government have been agreed by the Commission. It is clear that the Government and the Commission have agreed virtually all of the projects to be funded. The expected strong growth in the economy will enable virtually all of the projects to be completed within the period of the National Plan without imposing any additional burden on taxpayers. Discussions about the operational programmes, which set out the measures and objectives in more detail, are continuing in tandem and the intention is that they will be approved following the adoption of the Community Support Framework.
Pending the completion of these discussions, I am not in a position to give specific details of the final allocations of funds under the local development programme. For example, the discussions with the Commission Services suggest that the Community Employment Programme while very relevant to local development initiatives, may be more appropriately included with other education and training measures in the Operational Programme on Human Resources. Since the publication of the National Plan, the Government has decided to expand the numbers who may participate in the Community Employment Programme to almost double the number which were provided for in the National Development Plan. As a consequence the financial estimate for the programme will change significantly over the plan estimate. The programme will be co-financed by the Exchequer.
Detailed discussions will be undertaken with the Commission Services in regard to the specific measures which will be funded under the local development programme. Relevant to these discussions will be the Commission's proposals for Leader II and the measures which may be funded from this initiative.
State funding for the local development programme of £90.63 million will co-finance initiatives in designated areas and the Community Employment Programme in these areas.
My Department has the lead co-ordinating role in relation to the local development programme. Elements of the programme such as county enterprise boards and urban renewal will be directed operationally, respectively by the Departments of Enterprise and Employment and the Environment. The Community Employment Programme will be operated jointly by my Department and the Department of Enterprise and Employment through FAS. The programme will be supported and monitored from a policy perspective, by the Interdepartmental Policy Committee on Local Development which reports to me. All relevant Departments and agencies are represented on this committee. The policy committee's role also includes assessment and review of other policy issues in so far as they impact on local development. Financially, the programme will be monitored through the Community Support Framework monitoring system.
The local development programme is already operational. The objectives of the programme are to harness the potential which exists at local level to bring about social and economic development and to maximise this potential by putting in place a set of structures to facilitate this development. This process is already being implemented. A county enterprise board has been established for each county. The areas to be targeted under the disadvantaged areas sub-programme have been designated and the complementary measures — the urban renewal scheme and the Community Employment Programme — have been announced.