Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)
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Question 267: To ask the Minister for Finance if he will provide a breakdown of spending under the National Development Plan 2002 to 2006 in the south and east region on a project and county basis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6451/07]

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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The National Development Plan/Community Support Framework (NDP/ CSF) 2000-2006 is an integrated investment plan and strategy for economic and social development for Ireland. The Plan is delivered through seven Operational Programmes (OPs), the Economic and Social Infrastructure OP, the Employment and Human Resources OP, the Productive Sector OP, the Southern and Eastern (S&E) Regional OP, Borders, Midland and Western (BMW) Regional OP, the PEACE OP and the Technical Assistance OP. Each of these OPs has a Monitoring Committee which meets twice yearly to monitor the ongoing implementation of the Programme. There is also an overarching NDP/CSF Monitoring Committee which is chaired by my Department and this Committee also meets at least twice a year.

Progress on the NDP/CSF is monitored and reported on a regional basis, that is, for the BMW and S&E regions.

My Department reviews and generally monitors implementation of the NDP/CSF on this basis from information submitted by the Operational Programme Monitoring Committees but does not monitor expenditure at county level. However, the NDP/CSF information website (www.ndp.ie) provides information on certain projects categorised on a county basis and the Deputy may wish to refer to that website for information on projects in particular counties. Furthermore, my Department does not maintain data on the status of individual projects under the NDP/CSF as this is a matter for individual Departments and Agencies who are responsible for project funding and, where appropriate, project implementation.

The most recent information for expenditure in the S&E Region is from the December 2006 reports to the NDP/CSF Monitoring Committee which relate to the period January 2000 to end June 2006 and is set out in table 1. A total of €35 billion has been invested in the region to end June 2006. Of this amount €30 billion represents Exchequer and EU sources. Based on the most recent information available, it is expected that total expenditure will exceed the original forecast for the region by €1 billion with the Exchequer and EU component exceeding forecast by over €3.5 billion.