Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 26 November 2013
278. Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the way macroeconomic conditionality will be applied to Irish drawdown of EU funds; what the recent agreement at EU level means for Ireland; the funding streams that will now be subject to this conditionality; the Irish position on macroeconomic conditionality; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50502/13]
View answerThe European Structural and Investment (ESI) funds comprise the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the European Social Fund (ESF), the Cohesion Fund, the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF). Ireland will benefit from all of these funds with the exception of the Cohesion Fund. Preparations for the new programming period have been underway in Ireland over the past year. This has involved public consultations as well as the preparation of needs analyses and ex-ante evaluations. The outcome of these processes will inform the preparation of a Partnership Agreement and related Operational Programmes through which EU funding will be drawn down. The Partnership Agreement will constitute a formal agreement between Ireland and the Commission regarding the use of the Funds.
Macro-economic conditionality will be a feature of the next Structural Funds rounds. This means that the Commission may request a member state to review and propose amendments to its Partnership Agreement and Operational Programmes where this is necessary to support the implementation of relevant Council recommendations to address macroeconomic imbalances and social and economic difficulties and to maximise the growth impact of the Funds in Member States receiving financial assistance from the EU. Ireland supports measures which underpin good economic governance and improve economic and fiscal discipline. Macroeconomic conditionality or measures linked to sound economic governance will ensure that Cohesion Policy is consistent with wider EU economic governance.
It is important to stress that the process is incremental, starting with amendments to the Partnership Agreement and to the Operational Programmes in support of Council recommendations. It is only as a last resort, if member states fail to take effective action and economic recommendations are repeatedly and seriously breached, that payments may be suspended. Even then safeguards, including ceilings, apply to ensure that any such action is proportionate.
