I propose to take Questions Nos. 2 to 5, inclusive, together.
I chair the meetings of the Ministers and Secretaries General group on EU policy, the last meeting of which took place in my Department on Thursday, 24 September. Last week's meeting was the fifth meeting of the group since the beginning of the year. As part of its general supervisory role in relation to EU policy the group is responsible for co-ordinating the Irish approach to the key European issues, including enlargement, institutional reform and the Agenda 2000 negotiations. In this context, last Thursday's meeting concentrated on aspects of each of these topics, including the issue of regionalisation.
While the group, which is co-ordinated by my Department, has a central role in shaping the strategy to be adopted in the Agenda 2000 negotiations and, therefore, has examined the assessment undertaken by the Department of Finance of the implications of a regionalisation approach, a final decision on this issue is a matter for Government. No final decision has been taken.
Given the timescale for negotiations, I do not intend to ask NESC to report on the question of Objective One status. There is sufficient expertise and knowledge of the issues, not least in the light of the plans of the eight regional authorities together with the submissions received from other interested parties, to allow full consideration of the regionalisation issue by Departments and ultimately by Government.