Vol. 501 No. 6
211 Mr. Sargent asked the Minister for Finance the discussions, if any, he has had with the European Commission in relation to the rejection of the Irish regional structures; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6269/99]
Following the EUROSTAT communication of 23 February of which I advised the House on 25 February, officials of my Department and of the CSO met with EUROSTAT representatives on 1 March to discuss the EUROSTAT response and to further clarify the Government's regionalisation proposals. The meeting was useful. There will be further meetings this week at official level with both EUROSTAT and the European Commission. The Taoiseach also raised the matter with President Santer at their recent meeting.
