Vol. 452 No. 8
97 Mr. Leonard asked the Minister for Finance if he has satisfied himself with the level of co-operation between development agencies each side of the border to ensure that maximum benefit will be derived from the proposed Delors and INTERREG funding; and the involvement, if any, of the Department of Tourism and Trade in relation to the matter. [6340/95]
Commission approval for the second Ireland-Northern Ireland INTERREG programme was announced on 27 February last. The programme provides for a monitoring committee representative of the various interests involved which includes Commission representatives, implementing Departments and representatives of other relevant interests such as the new Border Regional Authority. As under the first INTERREG programme, the monitoring committee is charged, among other things, with ensuring that the programme is complementary with and in addition to other operational programmes and initiatives. The sectoral working groups for the measures under the programme, which report directly to the monitoring committee, are charged with ensuring the maximum level of co-operation between the various relevant development agencies on both sides of the Border.
Additional EU funding is also being provided to support the Northern Ireland peace process. Formal adoption of the initiative is expected shortly and the operational programme is expected to be approved later in the year. In drawing up the programme the two administrations are paying particular attention to ensuring full complementarity with INTERREG and other programmes relevant to the Border region, including the International Fund for Ireland.
In the tourism area one of the measures already introduced to help generate new business is the £6.3 million overseas tourism marketing initiative, which represents an entirely additional promotional effort to increase consumer awareness of Ireland. It is a private sector led consumer marketing campaign, which will promote the island of Ireland as a single destination in our four most important markets, namely the US, Britain, Germany and France. For the first time, the tourism industry on both sides of the Border, together with Bord Fáilte and the Northern Ireland Tourist Board, under the chairmanship of the Department of Tourism and Trade are participating in the initiative and are selling the island of Ireland as an attractive holiday location. This initiative, coupled with the existing promotional work being undertaken by the two tourist boards, will deliver additional tourism business to the whole island in 1995.
