As I explained in my reply of 22 May 2012, Ireland has been allocated a total of €901 million in EU Structural Funding for the period 2007-13. Of this, €750 million is assigned to the Regional Competitiveness and Employment objective, and the balance to Territorial Co-operation programmes, including the PEACE III (Ireland/NI), INTERREG IVA (Ireland/NI and Western Scotland) and the Ireland Wales Programme. Ireland's national strategic reference framework, which was agreed with the Commission in 2007, sets out the strategic direction for investment of the funds in Ireland under the Regional Competitiveness and Employment objective. This is being delivered through three operational programmes — the National ESF Human Capital Investment operational programme, which is managed by the Department of Education and Skills, and the Border, Midland and Western and Southern and Eastern Regional ERDF operational programmes, which are managed by the two regional assemblies. The general programme priorities in Ireland are the promotion and encouragement of innovation, the knowledge economy, enterprise, research and development, increasing activation of the labour force and increasing the participation and reducing inequality in the labour force.
Each operational programme has an indicative financial plan which sets out how the funds will be spent over the programming period at priority level. It should be noted that there is a time lag between expenditure being incurred and a claim for reimbursement being submitted to Brussels as there is a certification, verification and audit process to be completed to ensure compliance with the regulations. Flexibility is allowed under the regulations to move funding within and between priorities under each OP. It should be noted that the eligibility period is 1 January 2007 to 31 December 2015. I attach for the Deputy's information for each operational programme on the total amounts allocated to date at priority/sub-priority/theme level; and the indicative financial plans at priority level. While it is not possible at this point in the programming period to identify the specific projects which will benefit from co-financing, the indicative sub-priority/themes are set out in the table provided to the Deputy. It is expected that the overall objectives of each programme will be achieved and that Ireland will drawdown all the funding we have been allocated.
