Written Answers. - Programme for Peace and Reconciliation.
Rory O'Hanlon
Question:
31
Dr. O'Hanlon
asked the
Minister for Finance
the amount of money allocated to date from the peace initiative funding for the Border counties; the schemes and programmes that have benefited from this funding; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[11596/96]
James Leonard
Question:
41
Mr. Leonard
asked the
Minister for Finance
if his attention has been drawn to the disappointment being expressed at the amount of funding in the programme for peace and reconciliation being devoted to capital expenditure.
[11165/96]
Brendan Smith
Question:
44
Mr. B. Smith
asked the
Minister for Finance
the allocation made available under each sub-programme of the EU's operational programme to promote peace and reconciliation; the projects assisted to date; the level of funding allocated in respect of each project; whether he has satisfied himself with the progress to date of this programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[11599/96]
James Leonard
Question:
61
Mr. Leonard
asked the
Minister for Finance
if he will ensure that the three year EU special support programme for peace and reconciliation is extended in view of the fact that no projects have been approved in the 18 months since the establishment of this programme.
[11495/96]
Brendan Smith
Question:
96
Mr. B. Smith
asked the
Minister for Finance
if he has satisfied himself with the progress made in the disbursement of funding under the operational programme for peace and reconciliation; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[11239/96]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 31, 41, 44, 61 and 96 together.
The Special EU Programme for Peace and Reconciliation in Northern Ireland and the Border Counties of Ireland covers the following sub-programmes: urban and rural regeneration; employment; cross-Border development; social inclusion and productive investment and industrial development.
The European Commission, following widespread consultation with local interests, required the major emphasis of the programme to be on social inclusion. While there is provision for capital spending under the programme such expenditure must support the objectives in general and this emphasis in particular. Significant additional funding for capital infrastructure has been made available to the Border counties under the INTERREG programme, as well as the main operational programmes.
Most of the measures are being managed by intermediary funding bodies which are independent of Government Departments and funded under global grants agreements concluded between the intermediaries and the Commission. In addition, sub-programme 2 — Urban and Rural Regeneration — involves the participation of county council-led task forces across a wide range of actions.
The programmes was approved by the Commission at the end of July 1995 and the global grant agreements between the Commission and the intermediary funding bodies were signed on 8 December last.
The innovative implementing mechanisms adopted for the peace programme were required by the European Commission to ensure the greatest possible participation and involvement of the local communities. It has been the case that the intermediary bodies, drawn from the community and voluntary sector, took somewhat longer to get organised to carry out the functions required of them than I would have wished but we must accept the particular constraints, including public accountability, under which the programme is required to operate.
Definitive progress reports are being prepared by the various implementing bodies for a meeting of the monitoring committee of the programme at end June, and I will arrange to have a full report circulated to interested Deputies.
The total EU funding available to the initiative is 300 million ECU over three years. At least 20 per cent of this funding is committed to the six Border counties, but the actual figure remains to be determined. Progress will be a relevant determinant. The programme is a five year old one, ending 31 December 1999. Commitments of existing funding may be made up to that date so the question of extending the programme from 1997 does not arise.
My Department has no substantive role in relation to the implementation of measures and awarding of grants. As far as payments out of the programme are concerned, it is responsible only for the technical assistance measure which provides funding for the actions necessary for monitoring the programme and facilitating delivery. For example, the setting-up costs of the intermediary bodies are being met out of this measure.
I have arranged to make the details of allocations to the Border counties under each measure available in the form of a written addendum to this answer.
TABLE SHOWING ALLOCATIONS PER MEASURE TO THE SIX BORDER COUNTIES.
This table details the delivery mechanisms and responsible departments, together with the public funding element, in mECU, for each of the measure. Those measures outlined in italics are the ones being administered by the intermediary bodies, where ADM or Combat Poverty are shown as the intermediary body the other agency is shown in brackets; this reflects the agreement between the two bodies to effect mutual liaison through means of a joint steering group.
SUB-PROGRAMME 1 — EMPLOYMENT
Measure 1 — boosting growth and retraining for peace.
Objectives:
To promote reconciliation by: providing skills and qualifications needed to take advantage of the economic development and employment opportunities provided by peace; addressing the specific training and retraining needs arising as a result of the peace process. Delivery Mechanism — training and education providers. Responsible Authorities — Departments of Enterprise and Employment in association with Department of Education.
Total Public funding — £1.25 million.
Measure 2 — Action for Jobs
Objectives:
To promote peace and reconciliation through initiatives aimed at boosting action for jobs and combating unemployment especially among disadvantaged groups.
Delivery Mechanism — ADM (Combat Poverty)
Responsible Authorities — Departments of the Taoiseach in association with Departments of Enterprise and Employment and Education
Total Public Funding — £1.667 million. Measure 3 — Improving the Accessibility and Quality of Training, Education and Employment Services
Objectives:
To promote reconciliation and take advantage of the opportunities provided by peace through enhancement of the facilities and support services needed to enable people, particularly those from disadvantaged groups and areas, to access education, training or employment.
Delivery Mechanism — ADM (Combat Poverty)
Responsible Authorities — Departments of the Taoiseach in association with Departments of Enterprise and Education
Total Public Funding — £1.666 million.
Measure 4 — Accompanying Infrastructure and Equipment Support
Objectives:
To provide the facilities necessary to maximise the opportunities emerging from the peace process, especially in deprived areas.
To support the development of people and small businesses, including tourism and sub-contracting from larger businesses.
Delivery Mechanism — ADM (Combat Poverty)
Responsible Authorities — Departments of the Taoiseach and Education
Total Public Funding — £1.25 million.
SUB-PROGRAMME 2 (c) — URBAN AND RURAL REGENERATION
Measure 1 (a) and (b) Urban and Village Renewal and Tourism (ERDF and EAGGF)
Objectives:
The primary objective is to support urban and village renewal, particularly community-based neighbourhood revitalisation within the most disadvantaged areas of towns and villages; local roads and small infrastructure; and to further develop activities and facilities for tourists, including agri-tourism and nature-based tourism.
This objective will be fulfilled in the following ways:
—by improving the quality of life in the target area;
—by involving actively local residents, especially the most socially excluded, in the design and implementation of projects;
—through the provision of amenities which have the support of local communities;
—through increasing access to employment;
—through attracting and encouraging investment to the target areas;
—through supporting development projects which contribute to the renewal of deprived areas;
—through maximising the existing potential of the region's tourism resources;
—through improving the quality and range of agri-tourism and nature tourism products in the Border counties;
—through improving access to agricultural and forestry activities;
—through the provision of environmental services to sustain rural living environment.
—through encouraging the improvement of local transport services.
Delivery Mechanism — county council led task force in each area including representation from county enterprise boards, area partnerships, regional tourism organisations, the Arts Council and other relevant bodies and local communities groups (including Leader groups).
Responsible Authorities — Primarily Department of the Environment (ERDF) and Department of Agriculture (EAGGF) in liaison with other relevant sectoral agencies in the areas covered by this measure. Department of Transport, Energy and Communications and the Department of Tourism and Trade respectively will manage the transport and tourism related actions.
Total Public Funding — £4.667 million (ERDF), £3.833 million (EAGGF).
A provision of £3.5 million has been made in the budget of the Department of the Environment for the task forces in 1996 and it is expected that this will be utilised to the full.
Measure 2 — Community-led Development
Objectives:
To facilitate reconciliation between the communities in the Border counties by supporting ideas, activities and projects put forward by local communities through community-led and community-based actions.
Delivery Mechanism — ADM (Combat Poverty)
Responsible Authorities — Relevant Government Departments
Total Public Funding — £7.5 million.
SUB-PROGRAMME 3 — CROSS-BORDER DEVELOPMENT
Measure 1 — Business and Cultural Linkages
Objectives:
To develop the capacity of SMEs in Northern Ireland and the Border counties to engage in co-operative cross-border ventures.
To encourage cross-Border business linkages.
To encourage the breakdown of barriers between communities particularly through the medium of music, the arts and social activities.
Delivery Mechanism — Co-operation North/IBEC/CBI(NI)
Responsible Authorities — relevant Government Departments. A steering group chaired by Department of Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht for the cultural sector.
Total Public Funding — £7.25 million
Measure 2 — Infrastructure
Objectives:
To remedy the deficiencies in cross-Border infrastructural links to enable cross-Border communications between communities living on opposite sides of the Border to be resumed.
To provide the necessary infrastructural foundation to allow the economic development measures under this and other programmes to succeed.
Delivery Mechanism — Public Bodies
Responsible Authorities — Departments of the Environment
Total Public Funding — £8.584 million
The restoration of Aghalane Bridge on the N.3 national primary road has been identified as suitable for funding under this measure. It is the only national road cut since 1969.
Planning work for a new bridge and approach roads is proceeding, involving Cavan County Council, the National Roads Authority and the Northern Ireland authorities. Construction work will commence later this year and finish, with the bridge open to traffic, in 1997. The total estimated cost to the National Road Authority is £4.5 million.
In addition, there will be funding amounting to £500,000 in 1996 for works on non-national roads, in accordance with the criteria set out in the Programme, and indicative allocations have been notified to county councils. Details of the grant scheme, setting out the categories of qualifying road works and other eligibility criteria, are currently being finalised and will be notified to the councils as soon as possible.
Measures 3 — Co-operation between Public Bodies
Objectives:
To release further synergies in the provision of public services through co-operation between public bodies leading to an improvement of services in the interests of the Border communities.
Delivery Mechanism — Public Bodies
Responsible Authorities — Various Government Departments
Total Public Funding — 5.417 (ERDF), 1.25 million (ESF), 0.833 (EAGGF), 0.833 (FIFG)
Measure 4 — cross-Border Community Reconciliation
Objectives:
—To promote reconciliation by providing opportunities for enhanced cross-Border community development;
—to facilitate cross-Border community contacts beween women, young people and especially the socially excluded.
Delivery Mechanism — Combat Poverty Agency (ADM)
Responsible Authorities — Department of Social Welfare in consultation with other relevant Departments
Total Public Funding — £5.833 million.
SUB-PROGRAMME 4 — SOCIAL INCLUSION
Measure 1 — Developing grass-roots capacities and promoting the inclusion of women
Objectives:
—to promote reconcilation and mutual understanding by building trust, capacities and skills within communities to initiate and facilitate the development of their own areas. In Northern Ireland it
would be the intention that this would enable communities to participate in cross-community activity in the longer-term;
—to promote the full involvement of women in their local community and in the design and delivery of programmes, and to provide development support for women's groups and activities, both at neighbourhood and cross-community level;
—to provide education and training for community development including capacity building for women's and local groups.
Delivery Mechanism — Combat Poverty (ADM)
Responsible Authorities — Department of Social Welfare in consultation with other relevant Departments
Total Public Funding — £7.5 million
Measure 2 — Preventing Exclusion
Objectives:
To prevent future social and labour market exclusion of children and young people by:
—advancing the intellectual and social development of pre-school children;
—equipping parents with the skills and confidence to make a fuller and more positive contribution to their children's development;
—supporting the active participation of marginalised families in the design and delivery of early years programme;
—promoting local community partnerships around early years services;
—supporting families with young children at risk of collapse as a result of the conflict and its consequences;
—creating employment and training opportunities in early years services;
—raising quality standards in early years and family support services.
Delivery Mechanism — ADM (Combat Poverty).
Responsible Authorities — Departments of the Taoiseach and Education in consultation with other relevant Departments.
Total Public Funding — £2.751 million.
Measure 3 — promoting the inclusion of children and young people.
Objectives:
To address underlying causes of marginalisation and alienation and facilitate integration in the labour market by targetting marginalised young people within school age and up to 25 years of age as follows:
—to reduce underachievement and marginalisation of children and young people;
—to give young children and young people the confidence to engage positively in reconciliation;
—to enable children and young people to take part in cross-community co-operation and reconciliation;
—to provide equal opportunities for access and progression in career and personal development;
—to enable more young people to continue in or move into formal vocational education and training;
—to promote understanding of common cultural aspects and acknowledgement of cultural diversity.
Delivery Mechanism — ADM (Combat Poverty).
Responsible Authorities — Departments of the Taoiseach and Education in consultation with other relevant Departments.
Total Public Funding — £2.833 million.
Measure 4 — promoting the inclusion of vulnerable groups and improving the accessibility and quality of services aimed at these groups.
Objectives:
To facilitate the process of reconciliation by:
—helping those who are victims of the conflict to come to terms with their losses and accelerate the healing process;
—diverting those at risk of offending away from crime, particularly in those areas which have been most affected by the conflict;
—promoting the full inclusion and, where appropriate, reintegration of marginalised groups;
—supporting the active participation of marginalised groups in the design and delivery of programmes under this Measure;
—improving the accessibility and quality of services for marginalised groups and people;
—promoting partnerships at local level to support marginalised groups to tackle the problems caused by social exclusion.
Delivery Mechanism — ADM (Combat Poverty).
Responsible Authorities — Department of Social Welfare in consultation with other relevant Departments.
Total Public Funding — £2.749 million.
Measure 5 — (NI only)
Measure 6 — accompanying infrastructure and equipment support from the European Regional Development Fund.
Objectives:
To ensure that the necessary infrastructure support is available to complement the actions included under the appropriate measure of the Social Inclusion Sub-Programme.
Delivery Mechanism — ADM (Combat Poverty).
Responsible Authorities — Departments of the Taoiseach and Education in consultation with other relevant Departments.
Total Public Funding — £1.667 million.
SUB-PROGRAMME 5 — PRODUCTIVE INVESTMENT
Measure 1 — Investment Promotion.
Objectives:
To encourage a wide range of productive investment in industry and related services and tourism, including the development of new sustainable businesses and thereby to contribute to reconciliation through the creation and safe-guarding of jobs — especially in the most deprived areas.
Delivery Mechanism — Commercial Banks/EIB.
Responsible Authorities — Departments of Enterprise and Employment, Tourism and Trade, and Finance.
Total Public Funding — £5.667 million.
This measure consists of an interest-subsidy scheme applicable to loans advanced to small and medium-sized enterprises in respect of eligible projects.
Measure 2 — New Industrial Development Services
Objectives:
To support innovative actions, especially those with the potential to create or safeguard jobs in deprived areas or in sectors which have been particularly disadvantaged by the conflict or the new situation.
Delivery Mechanism — ADM (Combat Poverty)
Responsible Authorities — Relevant Government Departments
Total Public Funding — £1.875 million
Measure 3 — Trade Development
Objectives:
To support increased trade and marketing, both within the island of Ireland and beyond, including promotion of linkages between large firms and SME's, local supplier networks and industrial clusters.
Delivery Mechanism — ADM (Combat Poverty)
Responsible Authorities — Relevant Government Departments
Total Public Funding — £1.875 million
SUB-PROGRAMME 6 — (NI ONLY)
SUB-PROGRAMME 7 — TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE
Measure 1 — Technical Assistance
Objectives:
To further publicise and provide information on the programme as necessary
To support the management, monitoring and effective evaluation of the programme.
To enable broad participation in the programme, especially by local and grass-roots organisations.
Delivery Mechanism — central Government and intermediaries
Responsible Authorities — Department of Finance (EU Section)
Total Public Funding — £1.248 million.
