Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 244: To ask the Minister for Finance which Departments are on target in respect of spending in the context of the national development plan; those that are not; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30283/04]

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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The national development plan consists of seven operational programmes, three national economic and social infrastructure operational programmes, productive sector operational programmes, and the employment and human resource development operational programmes, two regional operational programmes, a joint programme with Northern Ireland, PEACE II operational programme and a technical assistance operational programme. In total, over 270 distinct measures are implemented by Departments and agencies. With the exception of the Departments of the Taoiseach, Foreign Affairs and Defence, all Departments are engaged to varying degrees in the implementation of specific measures of the national development plan.

Monitoring of progress of operational programmes and measure level is undertaken primarily by programme monitoring committees which meet twice yearly for each operational programme. Implementation of the national development plan is not monitored by monitoring committees at Department level, given the range of measures a Department or its agencies are delivering. Progress reports relating to the first half of 2004 have recently been reviewed by the monitoring committees. These reports show that spending for 2004 at operational programme level is broadly on target at mid-year.

It is estimated that around €31 billion or some 87% of the profiled expenditure for the period of the national development plan from January 2000 to June 2004 has been incurred. The regional breakdown of this expenditure is €8.3 billion for the BMW region and €22.8 billion for the southern and eastern regions, representing 75% and 92% of profiled expenditure for each region respectively. With respect to the operational programmes, the economic and social infrastructure operational programme is performing well with expenditure ahead of target at mid-year. Expenditure on the employment and human resource development operational programme has achieved 92% of profiled expenditure by mid-year and is on course to meet its full year target.

Due to changes in the nature of the interventions supported by the productive sector operational programmes, performance over the period of the national development plan appears disappointing at just over 46% of profiled expenditure. However, the level of expenditure profiled for this operational programme at the beginning of the national development plan proved to be unrealistically high given the nature of industrial development in recent years.

Both regional programmes have begun to perform well with evidence of catch-up occurring across a range of measures. Difficulties still exist in the tourism and agricultural sectors where demand for grant support has been less than anticipated. The performance at the end of June 2004 for the non-national roads, microenterprise and child care measures are ahead of projections. The PEACE and technical assistance operational programmes are on track to meet their targets by the end of the year.