I propose to take Questions Nos. 70 to 75, inclusive, together.
The Cohesion Policy Legislative Package for the 2014-2020 period comprises six regulations; a common provisions regulation, fund specific regulations for the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), European Social Fund (ESF), and Cohesion Fund, and regulations for European Territorial Cooperation (ETC) and European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation (EGTC).
The adoption of the package is subject to agreement through the co-decision procedure between the Council and the European Parliament. Significant progress was made during Ireland’s Presidency of the European Union in advancing the dossier with agreement on four of the six regulations. The progress made under the Irish Presidency is facilitating the conclusion of discussions by the Lithuanian Presidency. It is expected that there is likely to be a vote on the package by the European Parliament later this month, with publication in the Official Journal of the European Union sometime after that.
The new proposals are designed to reinforce the strategic dimension of the policy and to ensure that EU investment is targeted on Europe's long-term goals for growth and jobs. Each Member State must prepare a Partnership Agreement which will constitute a formal agreement with Commission regarding the use of funds.
My Department has overall responsibility for EU Cohesion Policy and primary responsibility for the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). My colleague, the Minister for Education and Skills, has primary responsibility for the European Social Fund (ESF). The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine has responsibility for the European Agriculture Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF).
Preparations for the new programming round in Ireland have been underway over the past year including consultation processes, needs analyses and ex-ante evaluations. The outcome of these processes will inform the preparation of the Partnership Agreement and Operational Programmes through which the Irish allocations will be drawn down.
It should be noted that Member States have four months from the entry into force of the regulation to submit their Partnership Agreement to the Commission.
The regulations provide for consultation at all stages in the preparation of the Partnership Agreement and the Operations Programmes. Initial consultations have taken place on the Partnership Agreement with a second consultation process now underway.
Community Led Local Development (CLLD) is a method for involving partners at local level in programme delivery. It is a requirement for the EAFRD under LEADER but may be supported by the other funds also. The option of using a CCLD delivery mechanism for the ERDF and ESF will be considered following a thorough analysis of the thematic objectives and investment priorities chosen.
As the legal bases have not been finalised, the Commission can only give indicative indications of our allocations over the 2014-2020 period. We understand that the Irish allocations for Cohesion Policy (ERDF and ESF) and the Rural Development Programme (EAFRD) will be in the order of €1bn and €2bn respectively.