Gay Mitchell
Question:99 Mr. Mitchell asked the Minister for Finance the indicators of physical output from the national development plan which he monitors; and the way in which the outturn of these indicators compares with projections. [14431/02]
Written Answers. - National Development Plan.
The national development plan is being implemented through seven operational programmes comprising 30 sub-programmes and 147 measures. Each operational programme has a managing authority which monitors financial and physical output targets, which are set out at measure level in the individual operational programmes. Each implementing agency is required to supply physical and financial progress at the operational programme monitoring committee meetings held in the spring and autumn. The progress reports for these are available from the respective managing authorities for the operational programmes as set out below:
|
Operational Programme |
Managing Authority |
|
Economic and Social Infrastructure |
Department of Environment and Local Government |
|
Employment and Human Resources |
Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment |
|
Productive Sector |
Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment |
|
S&E Regional |
Southern and Eastern Regional Assembly |
|
BMW Regional |
Border, Midland and Western Regional Assembly |
|
Peace |
Special EU Programmes Body |
|
Technical Assistance |
Department of Finance |
The OP progress reports are considered by the NDP monitoring committee which is chaired by my Department. The most recent meeting of this committee in Cork on 30 May 2002 noted that overall there has been satisfactory progress on NDP physical output. In particular, good progress has been made implementing the NDP infrastructure programme with financial outturns well on target and significant physical output being recorded despite a number of factors limiting progress. I would accept that construction industry inflation has been higher than anticipated at the outset of the plan. Additional costs, which impact on physical output, have also arisen in some cases due to the respecification of projects as they moved from conception to planning, design and construction.
Progress is satisfactory in the area of human resource development under the NDP. Physical output for some measures has been below target levels due to a lack of demand for the programmes and schemes on offer, reflecting the higher level of employment in the economy.
Physical progress is behind profile in areas of productive sector investment due to lower than expected demand reflecting the downturn in investment in the international economy. In the regional operational programmes, good physical progress has been recorded in some key areas such as non-national roads, but physical progress in other areas is behind target mainly because of the impact of foot and mouth and delays in receiving State aids approval from the EU Commission.
More generally some NDP measures have been slower to start than anticipated but by March 2002 all measures under the NDP had been launched.