Patrick Nulty (Dublin West, Labour)
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Question 269: To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the actions he will take to draw down the unallocated European social funds as proposed by the European Commission to address youth unemployment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9484/12]

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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Following the informal European Council meeting on 30 January 2012, Commission President Barroso launched an initiative to boost growth and tackle the problem of youth unemployment. He indicated his intention to work with Member States, particularly those where the situation of young people is most difficult, using structural funds among other instruments, to strengthen national efforts to combat youth unemployment and accelerate and strengthen support to SMEs as a key source of jobs in the EU. No new funds are being made available at present, however.

I strongly welcome President Barroso's initiative and I and other members of the Government will be working closely with the European Commission on its implementation. A Commission team will be in Dublin on 21 February 2012 for meetings with a team lead by the Department of the Taoiseach, which will include representatives from my Department. Dealing with unemployment is the major priority for the Government and this is an initiative which must be utilized to maximum effect.

At present, however, Ireland has no unallocated structural funds. Indeed I am pleased to report that recent Commission figures show that Ireland has the highest absorption rate of structural funds in the EU at 48% for the current 2007-2013 funding round, and it is estimated that the remaining 52% allocated to Ireland will be drawn down.

Ireland has been allocated a total of €901m in EU Structural Funding for the period 2007-13. Of this, €750 million is assigned to the Regional Competitiveness and Employment (RCE) objective, and the balance to Territorial Co-operation programmes, including the PEACE III, INTERREG IVA and Ireland Wales programmes. The RCE objective is being delivered through three operational programmes - the National ESF Human Capital Investment OP (managed by the Department of Education and Skills) and the Border Midland and Western (BMW) and Southern and Eastern Regional ERDF (S&E) OPs (managed by the BMW and S&E Regional Assemblies).

The general programme priorities in Ireland, which were agreed with the Commission, are the promotion and encouragement of innovation, the knowledge economy, enterprise, research & development, up-skilling the workforce and increasing the participation of groups outside the workforce. It is expected that the overall objectives of each programme will be achieved and that Ireland will drawdown the funding we have been allocated.

In the absence of unused structural funds in Ireland or new funding from other EU sources we will, in the first instance, be looking at whether existing employment programmes might be re-focused to better effect. If, at a later stage, additional EU funding becomes available, Ireland will make the necessary applications and will use the resources to meet key economic and social objectives.