Vol. 471 No. 7
122 Mr. Davern asked the Minister for Finance the way in which he intends to recoup the payments, if any, made in error or otherwise not conforming to EU regulations to groups, companies or individuals in the State, in view of the fact that such funds may already have been invested in ongoing ventures and that it may cause hardship to companies which had been genuinely unaware of the errors in the grants paid. [21663/96]
123 Mr. Davern asked the Minister for Finance whether he intends to review procedures and identify any anomalies in the current allocation of EU funding in the State in view of the fact that, based on the figures supplied by the Court of Auditors, that 6 per cent of the entire EU budget has been lost, misplaced or otherwise unaccounted for and in view of the fact that this 6 per cent in Ireland's EU funding would account for around £40 million; if so, the way in which he intends to conduct such a review; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21664/96]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 122 and 123 together.
The figure of 6 per cent refers to the Court of Auditor's estimate of payments to beneficiaries in all member states, involving some type of error. The figure can only be taken as an indication of the possible level of payment error as it is calculated by extrapolating from the amounts involved in cases actually identified. However, there is no suggestion in the Court of Auditor's report that losses of this order have been incurred by Ireland, which is recognised by the EU Commission as having a very good record in the administration of EU funds. In response to the need for action to up-grade financial systems throughout the Union, the EU Commission, in co-operation with member states, has taken on the task of identifying reforms needed for the better financial management and control of EU funds. The Commission's initiative, called Sound and Efficient Management 2000, has produced a number of recommendations, which will be discussed at the Council of Finance Ministers (ECOFIN) of 2 December, prior to its submission to the European Council in Dublin.
