Vol. 452 No. 6
13 Miss Quill asked the Minister for Tourism and Trade the developments, if any, made under the tourism package in respect of the INTERREG programme including funding proposals; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8390/95]
There will be two INTERREG programmes in Ireland, one of which will cover the six Southern Border counties and Northern Ireland and the second will operate between western areas of Wales and the Dublin, mid-east and south-east sub-regions in Ireland. The Department of Finance is the central authority in Ireland which will be responsible for the administration of both programmes in conjunction with its counterparts in Northern Ireland and Wales.
In so far as the North/South INTERREG programme is concerned, the Deputy will probably be aware that it was agreed by the Commission in late February, and applications for grant assistance were formally invited from the public in newspaper advertisements on 28 April last. The amount of European Union funds set aside for tourism development in the six Southern Border counties is some £10 million over the period up to 1999. The types of activity eligible for support include: natural resources and activity tourism and supporting facilities; heritage and cultural tourism, and joint and co-operative marketing and visitor services.
