Jerry Cowley (Mayo, Independent)
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Question 319: To ask the Minister for Finance the expenditure shortfall to date in the BMW region under the NDP; his plans to make up this shortfall in the remaining years of the national development plan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19621/05]

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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The national development plan, NDP, provides an indicative expenditure profile for each of the seven operational programmes, for the Border, midlands and western, BMW, and southern and eastern regions for each year from 2000 to 2006. Those profiles were set in 2000 when the operational programmes were prepared. The levels of resources allocated annually are determined by public expenditure ceilings set by the Government, taking account of the wider budgetary considerations and the requirements of economic stability. European Structural Funds are profiled to ensure consistency with the EU budget commitments of such funds to each operational programme for each year of the NDP. However, expenditure under the EU-funded elements of the operational programmes continues until the end of 2008. To ensure consistency of reporting, progress on expenditure is reported against the original profile of expenditure.

The table below sets out the expenditure reported for the BMW region to the monitoring committee for each operational programme to the end of 2004 — the latest period for which completed reports are available. In the case of measures funded by the Structural Funds, expenditure has been profiled for each year from 2000 to 2006, even though spending on those will continue to the end of 2008 in the BMW region.

I have already acknowledged that expenditure in the BMW region is behind the indicative target set out in the plan. I expect expenditure to show an increase in the BMW region over the remaining years of the NDP.

The responsibility of my Department is to ensure that resources are made available to meet the Government's objectives and to secure full draw-down of Ireland's allocation of Structural Funds. It is my objective that, as major projects are completed, more funds will become available over the remainder of the NDP for investment in the BMW region in order that progress can be made on rectifying the existing imbalance. I am confident that sufficient expenditure will be incurred to draw down the structural funds allocation for the BMW region.