Vol. 484 No. 3
333 Mr. Allen asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation if he has assessed the environmental and equality impacts of programmes to date in relation to the mid-term review of the Community Development Programme. [21938/97]
334 Mr. Allen asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation if he has ensured that new programme priorities have been defined in view of new external developments in relation to the mid-term review of the Community Development Programme. [21939/97]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 333 and 334 together.
The Community Development Programme is the responsibility of my colleague, the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs, and the Deputy should address any questions concerning the programme to him.
335 Mr. Allen asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation the steps, if any, which are being taken to assess if objectives have been achieved in the mid-term review in relation to local development in Ireland; the effectiveness of the programme to date in 1997 in relation to efficiency; and the outputs in relation to the cost of programmes. [21940/97]
336 Mr. Allen asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation the steps, if any, which have being taken to assess if objectives have been achieved in the mid-term review in relation to local development in Ireland; and the effectiveness of the programme to date in 1997. [21941/97]
337 Mr. Allen asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation the steps, if any, which are being taken to ensure that the technical assistance funds are being targeted towards those experiencing poverty and social exclusion in relation to the mid-term review of Sub-Programme 2 of Local Development. [21942/97]
338 Mr. Allen asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation the steps, if any, which are being taken in order to ensure that groups develop greater links with partnerships to ensure that there is a stronger commitment to a community development approach and a greater focus on the inclusion and support of marginalised groups within the programme in relation to the mid-term review. [21943/97]
339 Mr. Allen asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation if regional data is being used in the analysing of Sub-Programme 2. [21944/97]
340 Mr. Allen asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation the steps, if any, the review of the local development programme has taken in order to put greater focus on the promotion of equality and inclusion. [21945/97]
341 Mr. Allen asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation if he will make a statement on the design and format for the review of the local development programme; and the steps, if any, he has taken to look at the quality of what is being achieved in terms of the overall aims of the programme. [21946/97]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 335 to 341, inclusive, together.
The mid-term review of the Operational Programme for Local Urban and Rural Development 1994-99 was completed last July. The review was based in the first instance on a comprehensive evaluation prepared by independent consultants appointed by the monitoring committee for the programme. The evaluation was structured as follows: an assessment of changes in the external environment and their impact on the future strategy, objectives and operation of the programme; a review of each sub-programme under a common set of headings; an assessment of institutional arrangements for integrated local development; an assessment of the existing and proposed performance monitoring system (PMS); and presentation of conclusions and recommendations at programme and sub-programme level.
The findings of the evaluation were considered by the monitoring committee in April this year, and by the CSF monitoring committee in July and both committees endorsed their conclusions, including the following: notwithstanding changes which had occurred in the wider environment, that the stated objectives in the programme are still relevant and valid; that all existing sub-programmes and measures should continue to the end of the programme; that all of the funding allocated on the basis of these measures would be spent effectively during the lifetime of the programme; that developing and sharing models of best practice continue to be an important feature of this programme.
