John Bruton
Ceist:26 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce the way in which Ireland will benefit this year from the EC PRISMA Programme for preparing firms for the internal market.
Written Answers. - EC PRISMA Programme.
PRISMA is an EC Commission initiative which will be jointly financed by the EC and members states. It is intended to help small and medium enterprises in Objective 1 Regions adapt to the completion of the Internal Market The main priorities are the development of certification and testing infrastructures, particularly calibration and metrology services, and public procurement.
A draft operational programme setting out criteria for eligibility under the PRISMA initiative is at present being prepared by my Department. I hope to submit the draft to the EC Commission for approval in June. It is proposed, when the draft operational programme is approved by the EC Commission, to assess eligibility of all proposals received, based on the approved criteria.
The Commission have indicated that Ireland may benefit by up to 9 MECU, approximately £7 million, under the PRISMA initiative depending on the quality of the proposals made. It is likely that the bulk of the EC support will be available in 1992 and 1993 rather than in the current year.