§ Mr. McNamaraTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what proposals he has received from the European Commission that the Equal Opportunities Commission and the Fair Employment Commission should be represented on the committee monitoring the bids for structural funds in Northern Ireland; and what reply he has sent.
§ Dr. Mawhinney[holding answer 28 November 1990]: Recognising that it is for the member state to decide, the European Commission had suggested that the Fair Employment Commission (FEC) and the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) could be represented on committees which monitor the administration of the structural funds in Northern Ireland. We explained that, since monitoring committees are concerned with operational considerations, rather than wider policies such as fair employment, it would not be appropriate for these bodies to be represented. The Commission has accepted this explanation and we have now arranged that it should receive the annual reports of the FEC and EOC.