Approval of the joint Ireland/Northern Ireland programme under the second INTERREG Structural Funds Community initiative was announced by the European Commission yesterday. The Commission has approved an EU aid allocation to the programme or 157 mECU of which 89.5 mECU or about IR£72 million will be available in the six border counties on the southern side.
As I informed the Deputy on 25 January last the programme will offer a multisectoral range of measures covering infrastructure, environmental protection, economic development, tourism, community development, agriculture, forestry, fisheries and human resources. I have set out the breakdown of the total funding allocation in the form of a tabular statement which I will convey to the Deputy.
Statement setting out the breakdown across the various measures of the total expected expenditure under the Ireland/Northern Ireland INTERREG Community initiative 1994-1999.