Vol. 518 No. 3
62 Proinsias De Rossa asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation when it is expected to introduce the URBAN II initiative in view of the commitment in the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness; the funding which will be available for it; the areas it will cover; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11481/00]
The European Union has agreed to introduce a new URBAN Initiative for the period 2000 to 2006, to succeed the URBAN Programme of 1996 to 1999. A community-wide budget of 700 million euros has been allocated to the new initiative, of which Ireland has been given an indicative allocation of 5 million euros – Ir£3.9 million – of Structural Funds for one URBAN area. Final details of the guidelines for URBAN II are awaited from the EU Commission and the area to be funded will be selected in line with these guidelines as soon as possible after they have been published.
