Written Answers. - EU Funding.
Jan O'Sullivan
Question:
56
Ms O'Sullivan
asked the
Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment
the proposals, if any, she has, when EU funding ceases at the end of 1999, for a new scheme to replace the new opportunities for women programme in view of its success; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
[25029/99]
Michael D. Higgins
Question:
64
Mr. M. Higgins
asked the
Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment
if, further to Parliamentary Question No. 61 of 7 October 1999, she will establish the practice which prevails in other EU countries of departmental funding with later recoupment from the EU in order to avoid the needless hardship being visited on 32 projects on the NOW programme.
[24844/99]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 56 and 64 together.
The new opportunities for women programme, NOW, is a strand of the Employment Community Initiative which is funded by the European Social Fund. The total investment in 71 NOW projects since 1995 will amount to 20.3 million ecu, £15 million approximately, in European social funds and 2.1 million ecu, £1.6 million approximately, in European regional development funds. Under the terms of the EU initiative, funds will cease to be committed at the end of 1999 and final payment will take place during 2000.
My Department has recently allocated a tranche of funds received from the European Commission to the employment projects. This should relieve any urgent liquidity problems experienced by some promoters, particularly voluntary and community groups. My Department has made a further claim to the European Commission for the outstanding amounts and we expect to receive such funding early in the new year. We will continue to vigorously pursue the European Commission in relation to all outstanding moneys. Consultations are also taking place between my Department and officials in the Department of Finance on the possibility of alternative financing arrangements to bridge any shortfalls in Commission funding in the future.
The overall objective of the employment initiative is to target groups that face specific difficulties in the employment market and, accordingly, to explore innovative ways of combating exclusion in the labour market with a view to identifying and extracting lessons from specific projects and incorporating them into national policies. Through participation in the mainstreaming forum, established by my Department in 1997, relevant organisations and policymakers have the facility to influence future policy actions arising from the outcomes of the initiative. The work of the mainstreaming forum is ongoing and will continue into 2000.
The national development plan has allocated over £9.9 billion in expenditure on the employment and human resources development operational programme. I expect that groups and organisations previously funded under the NOW programme would seek funding under a number of measures in the plan.
The new proposed human resources EU initiative, EQUAL, which will run from 2000 to 2006, will continue to promote new means of combating all forms of discrimination and inequalities in the labour market by way of specific projects involving local consortia and transitional partners. The total amount of European social funds available will be 32 million euro or over £25 million.
The operational programme for the new EQUAL EU initiative will shortly be drafted by my Department. The draft programme will, subsequently, be submitted to the European Commission and a consultation process with the appropriate groups and organisations will follow. It is expected that a public call for project proposals will take place in autumn 2000.
