Vol. 392 No. 1
(Limerick East) asked the Minister for Finance the projects in the National Development Plan, submitted to the European Commission by the Government, which the Government intend dropping in view of the fact that the allocation of Structural Funds to Ireland by the Commission is £850 million less than the amount included in the plan.
50.
asked the Minister for Finance if the National Development Plan 1989-1993 published in March 1989 will be revised, in view of the fact that EC participation in funding the proposed programmes will be some £700 million less than the amount assumed by the Government at the time.
53.
asked the Minister for Finance the total amount of money applied for from EC Structural Funds under the Government's National Development Plan; the amount actually allocated; if he considers the amount adequate; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 50 and 53 and Priority Question No. 57 together.
The National Development Plan 1989-1993 submitted to the European Commission in March last sought EC Structural Fund assistance of £3.7 billion. On 20 September last the Commission of the European Communities allocated a total of 36.2 billion ECU to the Objective I Regions of the European Community. Ireland's share of this initial allocation amounts to £2.86 billion. An allocation of a proportionate amount from the reserve retained by the Commission for Community initiatives would give Ireland an amount in excess of £3 billion which would be consistent with a doubling of our EC commitments by 1993. The Government will be seeking to maximise Ireland's share of the unallocated reserve.
Over the period 1989-93 Ireland will receive a higher level of EC aid per head of population than any other Objective I Region. Ireland will also achieve the highest per capita increase in aid over the 1987 levels. I am happy that the allocation made to Ireland will represent a major boost for our economic development prospects.
As the Deputies will be aware, discussions are now at an advanced stage on the completion of the Community Support Framework for Ireland. The Community Support Framework will set out the priorities included in the National Development Plan for which Community assistance will be given, the aggregate amount of assistance to be given annually through the three Structural Funds, the amount of assistance for each priority over the whole period and the form the assistance will take. Discussions are also taking place between the EC Commission and the various Government Departments in regard to the content of the national, sectoral Operational Programmes. At this early stage, it is not possible to predict exactly which individual projects will be selected for assistance until the negotiations on the Operational Programmes are concluded. The Community Support Framework will be published after it has been approved and will incorporate the revised expenditure and aid figures for the programmes included in the National Development Plan.
(Limerick East): I should like to thank the Minister for his reply and to ask him if he agrees that, on the best possible projection of unallocated reserve there will still be a shortfall of £700 million and that if we add to that the local contributions to the plan we are talking about projects to the value of £1 billion which will have to be dropped from the plan. When will the Minister be in a position to give us details of the projects to the value of £1 billion which will be dropped from the National Development Plan?
First, I totally reject the Deputy's insinuation about £1 billion worth of projects being lost. He is coming at it the wrong way around.
(Limerick East): Seventy per cent and 30 per cent, £700 million and £300 million.
Secondly, the details will be available and published when the operational projects have been approved——
(Limerick East): When?
As soon as they are approved by the Commission. Then the Deputy will have all the details and we will all know——
(Limerick East): When does the Minister expect them to be approved?
I must remind the House that the time allocated for Questions is exhausted.
It is a strange development in this country that when we get over £3 billion which we do not have to repay to the EC, people try to say we left money behind us.
Very little has changed.
We did not leave that much behind us. A sum of 48 billion ECU's in aid was sought but there was a finite figure of 38 billion ECU's.
(Limerick East): The Minister is getting mixed up in his noughts.
Everybody went in over the top; so did we and we came out best of all.
That must be the end of Questions for today.
I want to raise the matter of some questions I put down to the Taoiseach. If you will bear with me, you will see the point I am trying to make. I asked the Taoiseach if the Government had any plans to commemorate the Battle of the Boyne. I also asked if he was meeting relatives of those people shot in Gibraltar and helping them with legal action in the European Court and whether he would make a statement in that regard. I asked if he had instructed the Secretary of the Department of Health to ask the acting chief executive officer of the Southern Health Board to resign. I asked——
Please, Deputy Barry. The Deputy knows that this is not in order.
If you will bear with me——
The Deputy will have ample time to raise those questions but he must proceed in the ordinary way in dealing with the matter.
These are matters on which the Taoiseach and the Government can reply——
I am calling the Order of Business. The Taoiseach.
Excuse me, Sir, I——
The Deputy is out of order in raising these matters now.
I am not, Sir, if you will bear with me. You transferred these questions from the Taoiseach but they are clearly within his knowledge to answer.
That is not a function of the Chair.
It is a matter for the House of the Oireachtas for which you are responsible. You transferred those questions from the Taoiseach, although he clearly has a responsibility to answer them in this House.
That is not the function of the Ceann Comhairle of this House and never has been.
Then why did you write to me? You are responsible for the office of the House of the Oireachtas and I will not tolerate the Taoiseach being protected in this manner in the future.
Deputy Barry, you are a man of great experience in this House.
That is what makes me so cross about what has happened. It has not previously happened in my 20 years here.
You have made allegations against the Chair which are utterly unfounded. I would ask you to reconsider your position. What you allege against me is completely untrue and unfounded. It cannot be substantiated. I must ask that it be withdrawn.
You transferred those questions.
That is not a function of the Chair.
You are responsible for the House of the Oireachtas and for transferring those questions.
I repeat that this has never been a function of the Ceann Comhairle of this House. The allegation you are making is unfounded and untrue. Be man enough to withdraw or leave the House.
I will certainly do that. I object vigorously to what has happened in this House recently.
Deputy Barry withdrew from the Chamber.
I would ask why you refused a private notice question to the Minister for Industry and Commerce in relation to the cancellation of export credit insurance on the grounds that it is not urgent. Could anybody tell me how the cancellation of £36 million worth of cover is not urgent?
Deputy Barrett has had a reply from me in connection with this matter. He can put down a question.
What is urgent? All over the Eastern Bloc they are having democracy in their systems but in this House we cannot even ask a question.
The matter to which Deputy Barrett refers has been ongoing for a considerable time. He had ample opportunity to put down a question on this matter but failed to do so. He may yet put down a question but it is quite disorderly to raise it now.
That is what I have done. This is the first day of the new Dáil session.
It is quite disorderly to raise it now.
If the Deputy does not resume his seat I shall have to ask him to leave the House.
This is the new Fine Gael.
We will all be leaving shortly. The Minister for Industry and Commerce——
Deputy Barrett must leave the House. I have told the Deputy that the matter to which he refers is not urgent. It is of an ongoing nature. He might have put down a question last week and this question would have come up today. He failed to do so, yet he kicks up a row today which is quite unjustified.
Will the Minister be making a statement on this matter?
If this disorder persists I shall have to adjourn the House.
You disallowed a question put by me to the Taoiseach relating to allegations made in Cork by a former acting chief executive officer of the health board that the Taoiseach instructed his removal from the post. I would ask why the Taoiseach has refused to answer that question.
You can put down a question about it some other time.
I put down a question asking the Taoiseach to answer an allegation but the question has been transferred to the Minister for Health.
As I assured Deputy Barry, the Chair has no function in this matter.
May I have an answer from the Taoiseach?
It is a matter for the Cabinet to transfer questions. That has always been the position. Deputy Barry knows that, too.
Why was my private notice question to the Minister for Agriculture and Food regarding the beef prices disallowed? What could be more critical or crucial than this matter, which is affecting thousands of Irish farmers this very day yet I cannot get the chance to raise it on the Floor of Dáil Éireann?
The Deputy can, if he proceeds in the ordinary way.
In what way?
My office will be glad to assist you. It is not in order now.
What relevance has this House to the thousands of farmers getting the worst price in the world for beef? Where is the Minister for Agriculture and Food? He might as well be at home.
