Vol. 491 No. 3
179 Ms O. Mitchell asked the Minister for Public Enterprise if she will make a submission to the European Commission proposing that all of the European Union funding being decommitted from the Luas project be invested in other public transport measures in the Dublin area. [12287/98]
The Community Support Framework Monitoring Committee is the body with responsibility for making decisions on the reallocation of Structural Fund assistance decommitted from the light rail project. I understand that the committee will consider this matter at its June meeting.
My primary concern has always been to ensure that Ireland does not lose the EU funding involved and that objective will now be achieved through the timely transfer of this money to other suitable projects.
I will be working hard to ensure that a reasonable proportion of the EU aid decommitted will be used to address public transport requirements. My Department has been working with CIE for some time to identify a range of potentially suitable public transport projects which can be contractually committed by end 1999 and where work could be completed by 2001.
