§ 5. Mrs. Helen JacksonTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what progress has been made in the disbursement of the European peace programme grant aid to Northern Ireland. [30926]
§ Sir John WheelerA total of £5.53 million has been paid out to approved projects and funding bodies. This consists of £4.147 million from the European Commission and £1.383 million of matching funding.
§ Mrs. JacksonWhat external monitoring procedures has the Minister put in place to monitor progress and to have a view to applying for an extension to the funding regime beyond 1998? Will he give assurances that he sees the grant aid programme both now and in the future as additional to existing Northern Ireland funding regimes?
§ Sir John WheelerIt will be possible for the funding to continue—we hope beyond the period that has already been approved. There is a substantial arrangement for measuring accountability. Not only has a novel delivery structure been established but the House of Commons, through the Select Committee on Northern Ireland Affairs, will be able to monitor because part of the additional funding which is provided comes from the Northern Ireland block. In addition, the European Parliament has its own arrangements for monitoring expenditure. So there are many and considerable arrangements for monitoring and scrutiny.
§ Rev. Martin SmythDoes the Minister agree that, despite his confidence that the monitoring arrangements are right, the European Parliament does not have a great record in monitoring European fraud and that the novel arrangements for distributing the money leave many gates open for misappropriation? Can we have an assurance that, when the funds run out, councils and councillors will not be left with extra expenses when community bodies and business men run away from their commitments because they do not have their hands on public money?
§ Sir John WheelerNo Finance Minister can give a copper-bottomed guarantee about what will happen in the future when funds may no longer be available. There will be a review of priorities and financial needs at that time. The monitoring programme and the monitoring committee, which is local in Northern Ireland, will be well seized of the points that the hon. Gentleman has made. There will not be dependency on European Parliament structures alone—local arrangements and the responsibilities that the House has in monitoring the use of public money will also be taken into account.
§ Mr. DowdWhat action is the Minister pursuing to ensure that all such expenditure is directed to produce the most beneficial and enduring long-term effects? What steps is he taking to dissuade the Northern Ireland Office from its disproportionate concentration on grand capital schemes, rather than seeking to make progress with the agreement of the other social partners and organisations in Northern Ireland?
§ Sir John WheelerThe bodies that approve the expenditure decide who the beneficiaries of the funding will be. That is inevitably the case. It is essential that as much of the money as possible provides schemes that are of lasting benefit to the people of Northern Ireland and are not superficial. It is the objective of the Northern Ireland department responsible for these matters to ensure that that happens.