Vol. 430 No. 5
25 Mr. Gilmore asked the Minister for Finance if he has now informed other Government Departments of their allocations of EC funding under the National Development Plan; the amounts to be allocated to each Department; when it is expected that the final submission will be made to Brussels; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
71 Mr. Cox asked the Minister for Finance the extent of progress made to date by the Government in preparing a National Development Plan for submission to Brussels in respect of the Structural Funds; the broad sectoral breakdown of expenditure which is being planned by the Government in this regard; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
89 Mr. Yates asked the Minister for Finance when it is anticipated that the Government will decide upon the expenditure of EC Cohesion and Structural Funds; and if he will set out his policy objectives in regard to this expenditure.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 25, 71 and 89 together.
In preparing the National Development Plan for the next round of EC Structural Funds and the Cohesion Fund my central policy objective will be to create sustainable employment and growth from the investments proposed. I am also anxious to ensure that the measures included will aid the reintegration of the long term unemployed into the workforce and benefit particularly disadvantaged communities around the country.
Considerable work has already been undertaken on the preparation of the Plan. I have received submissions from other Ministers, from the social partners at national level, from the seven sub-regional review committees and from a large number of other groups. My officials have had and will continue to have detailed discussions with officials of other relevant Departments in order to identify how proposals in the various sectors would best meet our priority objectives. In addition consultants were employed to evaluate the operation of the current Community Support Framework (CSF) and make recommendations for the next CSF. Discussions are ongoing with the EC Commission on the strategic choices and priorities as perceived by them and on the strengthening of material in relation to evaluation and statistical indicators.
Discussions are also ongoing with the Northern Ireland Authorities with a view to having a strong cross-Border element in the plan for Northern Ireland.
