Brendan Smith
Question:23 Mr. B. Smith asked the Minister for Finance the position regarding the new peace programme and INTERREG III; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19065/01]
Written Answers. - EU Programmes.
Brendan Smith
Question:26 Mr. B. Smith asked the Minister for Finance when it is expected that the new peace programme and INTERREG III will become operational; the total funding available for each programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19064/01]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 23 and 26 together.
The European Commission approved the new Programme for Peace and Reconciliation on 22 March 2001. A further stage in the development of the programme was completed on 15 June 2001 when the Programme Monitoring Committee agreed the Programme Complement. The Programme Complement is required under European Structural Funds regulations and sets out a range of implementation issues, including the method for the delivery of funds, detailed measure descriptions, and project selection criteria. The Programme Complement was endorsed by myself and Mr. Mark Durkan MLA, the Minister of Finance and Personnel in the Northern Ireland Executive, at a meeting of the North-South Ministerial Council, Special EU Programmes Sector, on 20 June 2001 and has now been submitted to the European Commission for information.
A number of related implementation issues remain to be completed by the Special EU Programmes Body, the managing authority for the programme. These should be completed over the next month or so. These include: the conclusion of contract negotiations between the Special EU Programmes Body and intermediary funding bodies which will deliver measures in the pro gramme; the establishment of financial control procedures; and general operational and management arrangements necessary for the implementation of the programme. I am hopeful that the timetable for the delivery of funding that I outlined to the Dáil earlier this year will be met. This should see funds flowing to projects by autumn time.
In relation to the Ireland/Northern Ireland INTERREG IIIA Community Initiative Programme, I would like to inform the Deputy that good progress is being made. Proposals for this programme were lodged with the European Commission last November following approval by the North-South Ministerial Council. Authorities North and South received the formal response of the Commission to these proposals in mid-May and negotiations with the Commission opened on 1 June 2001. A revised draft of the proposals is to be lodged with the Commission in July. I am anxious that these negotiations be completed quickly, and my counterpart in the North South Ministerial Council, Mr. Mark Durkan MLA, shares this view. This matter was addressed at our meeting in Dublin on 20 June 2001. Detailed implementation procedures will be contained in a Programme Complement to be completed following agreement on the programme with the Commission. I am hopeful that funding under this key North-South programme will be available later this year.
Including matching national funds, 141.3 million has been allocated to the Border region under the Peace and Reconciliation Programme 2000-2004. The South's contribution to the Ireland-Northern Ireland INTERREG IIIA Programme 2000-2006 is 71.5 million, including matching national funds. The EU contribution to the programmes is 106 million and 53.6 million respectively. Both programmes are being managed by the Special EU Programmes Body and will be implemented by a range of departments, intermediary funding bodies and locally based agencies.