§ Lord Holme of Cheltenhamasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they accept the European Commission President Jacques Santer's recommendation that the British and Irish Governments should match the Commission's £240 million assistance to Northern Ireland pound-for-pound.
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Northern Ireland Office (Baroness Denton of Wakefield)The Structural Funds Regulations, which apply to the Peace and Reconciliation package, stipulate that the Commission will contribute up to 75 per cent. of funding to projects sponsored by the Structural Funds, while the remaining matching funds can come from a variety of sources including the private sector, voluntary/community groups and the public sector. The Commission's draft guidelines on the Peace and Reconciliation package provide that both the EU contribution and matching funding should be additional.