Vol. 490 No. 2
15 Mr. S. Ryan asked the Minister for Finance if his attention has been drawn to the concern expressed by the Dublin Regional Authority and Dublin Corporation, among others, in relation to the disbursement of EU Structural and Cohesion Funds in the Dublin area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9516/98]
I am aware from various Dublin Regional Authority publications and from a motion passed by Dublin City Council on 2 March of general concerns of the Dublin Regional Authority and Dublin local authorities about the possible implications of the European Commission's Agenda 2000 for structural funding in Dublin. I understand that the concerns relate to the treatment of Dublin in the next round of funding vis-a -vis other regions in Ireland and the ability to fund outstanding development needs in the Dublin area, including those of disadvantaged communities.
As part of the process of preparing a national development plan for the period 2000-6, I have invited regional authorities, including the Dublin Regional Authority, to submit priorities to my Department by the end of next June for post-1999 Structural and Cohesion Fund investment in their regions. There is likely to be a considerable reduction in the global level of structural funding available to Ireland in the next round due to the significant improvement in Ireland's GDP per capita compared to the European average. Eligibility for Objective 1 status for Structural Funds is confined to regions below 75 per cent of GDP and Ireland as a whole will be considerably in excess of this figure for the purposes of eligibility under the next round. The necessity to maintain tight control on public expenditure and to observe the requirements of the Stability and Growth Pact will also constrain the public contribution to funding in the next programming period.
The Government is committed to considering the position of those regions of Ireland which may still be below the 75 per cent criterion for Objective 1 status. This consideration will have to take account of the fact that the Commission must agree to any change in the country's single region status and of the overriding objective of maximising Structural Fund transfers to Ireland as a whole under the next round. I have asked the regional authorities in preparing their submissions to take account of these considerations, among other things, and to prioritise their investment proposals accordingly.
When I receive the Dublin and regional authority submissions generally their relative merits will be carefully assessed as part of the planning process. The actual level of structural funding for Ireland in 2000-2006 will not be known until the outcome of the negotiations involving the member states on the Commission's draft framework regulations and financial framework is known, probably next year. The Government will not be in a position to finalise the national development plan until then. It is the Government's intention that Dublin, with the other regions of Ireland, will benefit from Structural and Cohesion Fund investment in the next round, subject to the constraints I have mentioned.
When the Minister answered questions some months ago he seemed to indicate the Government was still pursing a policy of treating Ireland as one region for Structural and Cohesion Fund purposes. Will he confirm the Government is pursuing the opposite policy and is seeking to retain Objective 1 status for, perhaps, three regions, to the obvious disadvantage of those areas in which roughly two-thirds of the population live?
I have never given the definitive line the Government is likely to pursue because it has not yet decided on its strategy. What I have said on a number of occasions, inside and outside the House, is that the Government's objective in this round of Structural Funds will be to secure for Ireland the optimum level of funding. If that means going down the route of sub-regionalisation, subject to the Commission's agreement, that is the route the Government will go. I explained outside the House, before Commissioner Wulf-Mathies came to Dublin some months ago and recently, that there are difficulties in going down the sub-regionalisation route. Commissioner Wulf-Mathies, when speaking after the publication of the regulations in mid-March, indicated her objections to the subregional route including devolved administration, regional structures and so on. For the last round the whole country had Objective 1 status. The Commission's proposals refer to Ireland as an Objective 1 region in transition. The Government's objective is to conduct the negotiations on the basis of securing the optimum level of funding for Ireland. We have not yet decided by what route to proceed but our decision will be based on the route we think will secure the greatest level of funding.
It seems the Minister is saying he and the Department would wish to take the route of sub-regionalisation but that he does not think the Commission will allow it. Will the Minister agree, notwithstanding the fact that the average GDP per capita in Dublin may well be higher than the European average, that there are still centres and local communities in this city in which there is dire poverty? That is a whole area which Structural and Cohesion Funds have not addressed.
The Deputy has highlighted a very important point that there are areas which are well below the average level of wealth in the Dublin area. Many people are under the impression that one can pick and choose pockets and say that area is well below the average for the region, and well below the national average. It will not be possible to go down to those microlevels and sub-regionalise that type of distinction. Whether we go down the route of having Ireland treated as an Objective 1 country in transition or the route of sub-regionalisation, it will not be possible to pick and choose pockets as intimated by the Deputy. It might be possible, subject to the Commission's agreement, to have some regions treated as Objective 1 regions. I have said repeatedly that the Government's objective is to secure the maximum amount of funding and we will decide on the best way to achieve that when everything is on the table. If the maximum amount of money that can be secured for Ireland is through having Ireland treated as a single region in transition, that is the route the Government will take. If on the other hand, and subject to agreement by the Commission, the sub-regionalisation route is the proper way to go to secure the maximum amount of funding, that is the route we will take. When speaking on this matter I have always explained the difficulties of going down the sub-regionalisation route because it will have to be agreed to by the Commission. Commissioner Wulf-Mathies is against that route. It is early days in the negotiations and it will probably be well into 1999 before the Agenda 2000 package is finalised.
Will the Minister agree that due to the decline in farm incomes many rural areas are suffering from the effects of depopulation and loss of competitiveness and as a result the IDA finds it difficult to encourage industrialists to set up in many of these regions? Unless this disparity is offset in the next round of Structural Funds these areas will continue to lose their competitiveness. The strategy in the negotiations for the next round should be to ensure that areas which have fallen behind under the present programme have an opportunity to catch up. There will be major problems if Dublin, the east coast, Limerick, Cork, Galway and Waterford continue to grow to the deprivation of the rest of the country.
I agree there are many parts of the country where the levels of economic activity, wealth levels and deprivation are well below that for the rest of the country. The National Development Plan should address many of those issues. It continues to be the job of Government to skew investment in a particular plan to a particular region. That is the job of Government notwithstanding the electoral pressures brought to bear on Deputies and administrators. If there are regions which are not doing well it is the job of Government to divert resources to that region. We cannot look to Europe at all times and ask it to look after these regions. The European model is to provide a certain sum but it is the Government's job to draw up plans on the basis of its priorities. Everything is relative. Were I to visit Deputy Deenihan's constituency I would be told that for certain parts of his county Objective 1 status is required. I drove to and from Belmullet last night. That is an area that needs a great deal of funding and prioritisation by the Government.
People in Waterford say their area should be regarded as a special case also. Deputy McDowell, who is rational, sane and takes an objective line on most of these matters, has made a great case for many parts of Dublin. The Government must ultimately decide on its national plan, secure the maximum level of funding and divert it to the areas of the country with most need.
