Vol. 474 No. 8
33 Mr. M. Ahern asked the Minister for Finance the plans, if any, which are being put in place to effectively deal with the slowing down in EU Structural Funds into Ireland which will occur as 1999 approaches; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3995/97]
Under the Community Support Framework (CSF) 1994-99 the European Union is committed to providing Ireland with 5,620 million ecu, in 1994 prices, in Structural Funds. The funds are provided annually in line with the commitments in the CSF financial plan. While the annual commitments may be revised by the monitoring committee in line with progress achieved, the overall commitment is fixed, subject only to indexation. Under the most recently revised financial plan Ireland will receive 1029.61 mecu in 1997, 1098.13 mecu in 1998 and 1134.77 mecu in 1999. Provided that satisfactory progress is maintained in implementing the operational programmes there will be no slowing down in Structural Fund receipts as 1999 draws near.
As regards funding post 1999, the Government is developing its strategy for the forthcoming negotiations of the next round of Structural Funds to ensure the best possible outcome for Ireland.
