Vol. 513 No. 3
86 Mr. Kenny asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands the position regarding the north Mayo National Park; if agreement has been reached on a suitable site for a centre there; the purpose for which moneys allocated by the previous administration to this project have been spent; the amount involved; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2366/00]
Six sites have been offered to my Department for the proposed visitor centre for Mayo National Park, two of which are considered as suitable and we would hope to acquire one within the next few months.
Under the 1994-99 tranche of EU Structural Funds an amount of £2 million was allocated provisionally for the centre. It became clear in late summer 1997 that the EU deadline for completion of the project end 2000 was unlikely to be met so the funds were decommitted in October of that year and re-allocated to other Structural Funds projects. At that time I gave an assurance that the project would be submitted for assistance under the next round of EU Structural Funds and I am pleased that a sum of £3 million has been included in the National Development Plan 2000-2006 for the construction of the new centre.
