asked the Minister for Finance if his attention has been drawn to a report of the North Eastern Regional Development Organisation regarding the uptake of funds by the local authorities of Counties Cavan, Louth and Monaghan and the Midland Regional Tourism Organisation from the European Regional Development Border Counties Fund; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Written Answers. - Border Areas Programme Fund.
16.
Mr. Leonard
My attention was drawn to this report and I was concerned to learn that the large balance remaining to the credit of the local authorities in the Special Border Areas Programme Fund at the end of 1982 was due to the fact that the local authorities had failed to submit claims to draw down their allocations in respect of all the expenditure which they had incurred on their projects in 1982. This situation gave a distorted picture of the utilisation of the Special Fund allocations and influenced the 1983 allocations.