Vol. 457 No. 3
31 Mr. Gallagher (Donegal South West) asked the Minister for Finance the amount of funds that Ireland will be receiving from the recently announced EU budget of 155 million ECU or £124 million, which is designed to assist programmes to combat flooding within the EU; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15245/95]
I presume the Deputy is referring to the allocation of £165 million ECU under the INTERREG programme for flood relief measures to promote international co-operation along catchment basins of rivers like the Rhine or Maas.
It does not appear at this stage that any Irish schemes will be able to benefit from this allocation. However, the possibility that some of this funding might be available to Ireland is still being examined. The Deputy can be assured that in the course of the EU budget procedures my Department will seek to maximise the funding for Ireland under every possible heading, including funding to combat flooding if such funds are available.
