Marian Harkin (Sligo-Leitrim, Independent)
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Question 204: To ask the Minister for Finance the profile, actual expenditure, and expenditure versus profile in the Border midlands western region in the national development plan to date in 2006. [20050/06]

Marian Harkin (Sligo-Leitrim, Independent)
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Question 205: To ask the Minister for Finance the amounts of extra expenditure above that committed in the national development plan spent in the Border midlands western region during the lifetime of the current NDP. [20051/06]

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 204 and 205 together.

The most recent expenditure data on the National Development Plan relates to the period to the end of December 2005. This data is set out in Tables 1 and 2. Data for first six months of 2006 will be available at the Autumn 2006 meetings of the Operational Programme Monitoring Committees.

The National Development Plan (NDP) provides an indicative expenditure profile for each of the seven Operational Programmes for the Border, Midland and Western (BMW) and Southern and Eastern (S&E) Regions for each year 2000 to 2006. These Operational Programmes are: Economic and Social Infrastructure, Employment and Human Resources Development, Productive Sector, Border, Midlands and Western, Southern and Eastern, Technical Assistance and the Peace Programme.

The profiles for spending under each Operational Programme were set in 2000 when the Programmes were being prepared and to ensure consistency of reporting, have remained at that level.

Table 1 sets out the indicative total expenditure profiles and the estimated total expenditure incurred under each Operational Programme in the Border, Midland and Western (BMW) Region for the period January 2000 to December 2005.

Profiles and Expenditure data includes all NDP sources of funding; Exchequer, EU and Private.

I wish to point out that expenditure for the Productive Sector Operational Programme is lower, achieving 29% in the BMW region. There are a number of reasons for this including:

The slowdown in economic activity in the early years of the Programme meant that businesses were not in a position to put forward investment plans to avail of funding;

The ability of industry in the BMW region to absorb funding for Research and Development projects. Also, Research and Development projects usually have a long lead in time between inception and funding requests.

The nature and extent of Third Level infrastructure in place in the BMW region. While there is one University and a number of Institutes of Technology, the ability of the region to carry out Research and Development projects is constrained.

There were delays in getting State Aid clearance resulting in the late start to funding some schemes.

The Exchequer profile and estimated Exchequer expenditure incurred under each operational programme in the BMW Region for the period January 2000 to December 2005 is set out in Table 2.

It can be seen by the data presented in Table 2 that the Exchequer contribution to the BMW Region under the Economic and Social Infrastructure Operational Programme (ESIOP) has exceeded its original target by €516 million to the end of 2005.

However, a complete picture of extra expenditure in the region, over that committed in the lifetime of the NDP, will not be available until the full year expenditure data for 2006 are analysed and reported at the Spring 2007 meetings of the Operational Programme Monitoring Committees.

Marian Harkin (Sligo-Leitrim, Independent)
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Question 206: To ask the Minister for Finance the profile, actual expenditure and expenditure versus profile in the southern and eastern region in the national development plan to date in 2006. [20052/06]

Marian Harkin (Sligo-Leitrim, Independent)
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Question 207: To ask the Minister for Finance the amounts of extra expenditure above that committed in the National Development Plan spent in the southern and eastern region during the lifetime of the current NDP. [20053/06]

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 206 and 207 together.

The most recent expenditure data on the National Development Plan relates to the period to the end of December 2005. This data is set out in Tables 1 and 2. Data for the first six months of 2006 will be available at the Autumn 2006 meetings of the Operational Programme Monitoring Committees.

The National Development Plan (NDP) provides an indicative expenditure profile for each of the seven Operational Programmes for the Border, Midland and Western (BMW) and Southern and Eastern (S&E) Regions for each year 2000 to 2006. These Operational Programmes are: Economic and Social Infrastructure, Employment and Human Resources Development, Productive Sector, Border, Midlands and Western, Southern and Eastern, Technical Assistance and the Peace Programme.

The profiles for spending under each Operational Programme were set in 2000 when the Programmes were being prepared and to ensure consistency of reporting, have remained at that level.

Table 1 sets out the indicative total expenditure profiles and the estimated total expenditure incurred under each Operational Programme in the Southern and Eastern (S&E) Region for the period January 2000 to December 2005.

Profiles and Expenditure data includes all NDP sources of funding; Exchequer, EU and Private.

The Exchequer profile and estimated Exchequer expenditure incurred under each operational programme in the S&E Region for the period January 2000 to December 2005 is set out in Table 2.

The data presented in Table 2 shows that the Exchequer contribution to the S&E Region under the NDP has exceeded its original target by €2.25 billion to the end of 2005.

However, a complete picture of extra expenditure in the region, over that committed in the lifetime of the NDP, will not be available until the full year expenditure data for 2006 are analysed and reported at the Spring 2007 meetings of the Operational Programme Monitoring Committees.