§ Sir John Biggs-Davisonasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether he will make a statement about Commissioner Tugendhat's visit to Belfast and County Fermanagh.
§ Mr. PriorDuring his visit to Northern Ireland on 27 to 30 January, Commissioner Tugendhat attended a luncheon given by the Northern Ireland airports board to mark the completion of stage II of the Belfast airport development programme, which has so far received nearly £7.5 million from the regional fund. He also attended a dinner given by the head of the European Community information office in Belfast to mark the 10th anniversary of the United Kingdom's accession to the Community. I understand that the European Community office arranged a varied programme for him including meetings with the Fermanagh district council, the Ulster Farmers Union and the Northern Ireland Agricultural Producers Association, and visits in Fermanagh. He also addressed the Finance and Personnel Committee of the Northern Ireland Assembly and I understand that he had a useful general discussion with it about the impact of European Community financial assistance to Northern Ireland. I believe the programme as a whole will have helped to increase Commissioner Tugendhat's understanding of and sympathy for the particular difficulties of Northern Ireland.