Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 22 March 2018
10. Deputy Joan Burton asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform his plans to maximise the impact of the European Structural and Investment Funds supports in the context of the challenges of Brexit; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10865/18]
Amharc ar fhreagra14. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform his plans to negotiate additional PEACE IV funds for the existing programme and seek agreement for a new PEACE programme to address the challenges of inter-community conflict and cross-Border relationships in view of instability resulting from the Brexit withdrawal process. [8719/18]
Amharc ar fhreagra15. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the steps he has taken to ensure Ireland, North and South, will continue to receive the maximum benefits from the Structural Funds programmes in the next period of the Cohesion Fund; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13219/18]
Amharc ar fhreagra17. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if the particular infrastructural needs of areas such as counties Cavan and Monaghan will be given priority consideration if Cohesion Funds become available post-2020 in view of the negative impacts Brexit will have on the Border region; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11329/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraWill the Minister set out how the Government proposes to maximise the European Structural and Investment Funds supports in the context of the challenges of Brexit. I am particularly interested in the development of ports. No matter how the Border issue is resolved, we hope there will be no significant changes, but it has not yet been settled. It is clear, for instance, that ports such as Rosslare, Dublin and Cork must enjoy significant investment to allow more direct transport to the Continent.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 10, 14, 15 and 17 together.
Ireland has been a significant beneficiary of Structural Funds throughout the 45 years of our EU membership. Of particular significance in the context of Brexit is the financial support there has been for the Border region of Ireland and Northern Ireland, with almost €2.4 billion of EU funding having been provided for successive PEACE and INTERREG programmes. The current programmes have a combined value of €550 million in the period 2014 to 2020, of which 85% is being funded through the European Regional Development Fund, ERDF.
The Government is firmly committed to the successful implementation of the current programmes, but more than that, we are committed to successor programmes post-2020. The PEACE and INTERREG programmes are important drivers of regional development in a cross-Border context. Through EU-funded co-operation, a range of Departments and agencies, North and South, have engaged in and benefited from a variety of cross-Border and cross-community projects. Support for the two programmes from the ERDF is not only an important source of funding but also a key element of the European Union's continuing commitment to the process of peace building and reconciliation in the region in the last quarter of a century. I was delighted, therefore, when December's agreed progress report between the European Union and the United Kingdom included a specific paragraph which reflected the Government's ambition to complete the current programmes and examine favourably the possibilities for future programmes. In its communication to the European Council that accompanied the progress report the European Commission commits itself to proposing the continuation of the programmes in its proposal for the next multi-annual financial framework, which is expected in May.
The four Deputies will have an opportunity to put two supplementary questions.
Will the Minister say what plans have been made to improve the investments in ports, particularly Dublin, Rosslare and Cork, over and beyond what is contained in the Ireland 2040 document? Notwithstanding all of the publicity around it, the document does not really explain in detail what the proposals are. Post-Brexit, we must have far more direct transportation links between Ireland and the European mainland because, no matter what happens, there will be problems at French ports, in travellling through England, as has been the tradition, and we do not know how the Border issue will be resolved and where, in effect, the Border will be. I accept that the European Union has shown goodwill towards Ireland in this respect, but we need to have it backed up by serious funding to improve our capacity to have direct shipments to mainland Europe, rather than have shipments via the United Kingdom.
I thank the Minister for his response. There are four priority areas within the PEACE programme which has been narrowed. They are shared education services for children and young people, shared spaces and services and building positive relations. As the Minister will be aware, PEACE programme funding has played a crucial role in the Six Counties and Border regions. In the light of Brexit, would it be feasible to broaden the range of projects included in the PEACE programme? There should be more priority areas covered by the programme. I would be grateful if the Minister looked into that matter.
I was going to say something similar. The European Commission will examine favourably future programmes and has committed to the continuation of existing programmes. While we are in the early days of discussions on the next round of the EU Cohesion Fund policy, we should be bringing forward concrete proposals to the Commission for additional programmes or areas to be covered. I wonder what ideas the Minister has in that regard or whether he will feed into the discussions. Particularly in the light of the scenario post-Brexit, it is important that we start that round of discussions as soon as possible.
The way the questions were grouped probably did not do justice to Deputy Joan Burton's question about the general application of EU funds, with particular reference to ports. Our colleagues asked questions about PEACE and INTERREG programmes funding. They relate to different matters.
To respond to the first question Deputy Joan Burton put to me about a focus on ports, the Ireland 2040 plan, in the section on connectivity, places a lot of attention on ports and how important they will be post-Brexit. In terms of from where funding will come to allow their development, it will come in one of two ways. Most of it will come from the resources available to ports, but, obviously, the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport now has a five-year capital allocation to support important capital projects. Within the five-year window additional support could be made available to make progress on really important projects.
To respond to the questions put to me by Deputies Jonathan O'Brien and Carol Nolan on whether it is feasible to broaden the current range of priorities for funding, it is unlikely to happen because we have agreed to the projects and the funding stream for the current European Union programmes. We had to place a lot of attention on making sure the commitments we had made would be implemented. That was a real priority of mine in the immediate aftermath of the Brexit referendum result. It is unlikely that we will change the breadth of programmes or projects at this point. Where I am placing the majority of the focus of my Department is on what will take place. Regrettably, what we are looking at are equivalent programmes in what are referred to as "third countries" to see how or whether they offer a precedent for the development of programmes post-2020.
Has the Minister had discussions with the European Commission on additional allocations of funds for Ireland? Obviously, the status of Ireland, given its economic growth rate, etc., has changed. Nonetheless, Brexit will pose an enormous economic challenge to the country and also mean that access to our markets via the United Kingdom may no longer be as easy as it once was. We are hoping for the best, but, to be honest, we must plan for a situation where there may be far more direct trade involving a longer sea voyage and which may involve not using the United Kingdom to the same degree. Frankly, we know from scenes in places such as Calais that where large numbers of trucks roll off ferries, one needs very significant port infrastructure, much bigger than what is in place. I wonder whether the Minister has had conversations with the European Union on how we will manage. I could put similar questions about airports, but, to be honest, initially the most difficult part will probably involve ports.
In the light of Brexit and the challenges it poses for many communities in the context of instability and inter-community conflict, we need to seek extra funding or consider the possibility of a new PEACE programme being devised as a result of this threat.
Another way to deal with it would be to broaden the priority areas within the PEACE programme to ensure that they are adapting to the new conditions that will be imposed on communities under Brexit. We need additional PEACE funding and programmes to meet the challenges in those communities.
We have our work cut out for us to maintain what we have agreed. Considerable effort had to go into ensuring that the commitments made up to 2020 were met. It would be of great help to our efforts if the institutions of Northern Ireland were in place to assist us in this work. We are working directly with the special EU programmes body, SEUPB, which oversees the implementation of these programmes, to ensure that commitments we have are met. Our focus now has to be on whether when the UK leaves the EU these programmes will be maintained and if so where the money will come from to maintain them and what structures it will flow through. This is a very big question. I am committed, as I have said on several occasions, to coming up with a way in which we can maintain our commitment to these programmes because I have seen at first hand their valuable effect and would be very concerned if that work was not to continue.
In response to Deputy Burton, yes I have had discussions with the Commission about the kind of support Ireland may need as the UK leaves the EU. The nature of the support that we may need will depend on the form of the UK's exit. That is a matter of intense negotiation at the moment. It is one of the reasons I welcome the fact that we have a transition period in place to give more time for resolving and understanding these exceptionally serious matters.
