Beverley Flynn (Mayo, Independent)

I welcome the opportunity to speak of the under spending in the National Development Plan 2000-2006. The plan was negotiated under Agenda 2000 and set up the BMW and the southern and eastern regions for the purposes of drawing down EU structural funding. Is under spending in breach of a legally binding agreement between Ireland and the EU? The National Development Plan 2000-2006 states the position negotiated under Agenda 2000. The agreement was made under the community support framework for Ireland 2000-06. I tabled a question on the status of the situation to the Minister for Finance. He states that the regulations do not permit the transfer of the overall allocation of Structural Funds between the BMW region and the southern and eastern region. A transfer of resources has not been sought by the Government and no proposals have been considered for such action. The reply informs us that the BMW region has under spent to the tune of €3.6 billion in the National Development Plan 2000-2006.

If the Minister informs us he has kept within the regulations of the Community Support Framework as far as Structural Funds are concerned, it is clear that the under spending is occurring within the Exchequer funding of the plan. While that may not be in breach of the regulations and the legally binding contract, it goes against the spirit of the National Development Plan 2000-2006 in which the Government committed Exchequer funding as well as EU Structural Funds. The National Development Plan 2000-2006 is a contract between the Government and the people. The under spending must be rectified but it is difficult to understand how this can be achieved. If the Government spent an extra €10 million per day for the next year, it would not make up the ground it has lost.

More than one year ago the Minister of State at the Department of Finance stated on behalf of the senior Minister that the Government was committed to redressing the imbalance. In 2002 the Government supported the campaign for regionalisation. It fought the battle to retain Objective One status in the BMW region, resulting in Objective One and transition funding for the rest of the country. Having won the battle and drawn up the national development plan to put it into effect, the Government is now going against the spirit of its policy as outlined in the National Development Plan 2000-2006.

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