Vol. 480 No. 7
70 Mr. Yates asked the Minister for Public Enterprise the consequences arising out of the Mid-Term Review of Structural and Cohesion Funds for her Department; and the alterations, if any, there are to the original Departmental Programme set out for the period 1994 to 1998 in the relevant operational programmes for investments in postal, energy and telecommunications infrastructure. [15060/97]
The mid-term review of the Community Support Framework, 1994-9 was agreed by the CSF monitoring committee on 29 July 1997. That review has consequences for the two EU-backed Operational Programmes that affect my Department. The two programmes in question are: the Operational Programme for Transport, 1994-1999 and the Economic Infrastructure Operational Programme, 1994-1999.
These two Operational Programmes involve total investment of over £1 billion in airport, public transport, energy and communications infrastructures.
In the case of the Operational Programme for Transport the changes are twofold: first an additional 10 million ECU of EU aid, about £7.5 million, has been allocated to finance preparatory work on the third Luas line to Ballymun.
Second, in the case of State airports, 11 million ECU, about £8.4 million, has been withdrawn from the EU allocation for airports.
In the case of the Economic Infrastructure Operational Programme, changes also occur in two main areas: first, in the area of telecommunications, savings of 12 million ECU, about £9 million, were identified. From these savings, 10 million ECU, about £7.5 million, have been allocated to develop broad band telecommunications infrastructure. This allocation recognises the increasing requirements of the evolving information society.
