National Development Plan

The statutory role of the Authority is to review and monitor expenditure under the Community Support Framework / National Development Plan and the Operational Programmes. This enables the Authority to ensure that the development needs of the Midland Region are being met within the NDP.

CSF/NDP 2000-2006:

The following are the Operational Programmes under the National Development Plan 2000-2006:

• Economic & Social Infrastructure
• Productive Sector
• Employment & Human Resources
• Common Agriculture Policy
• PEACE
• Border, Midlands and West Regional Operational Programme

Allthough the CSF/NDP 2000-2006 technically finished on the 31/12/06 there isl considerable carryover into 2007 and 2008  and programmes have closure requirements to comply with the structural funds regulations. The Authority will review developments to ensure that the region can maintain its allocation of funds.

NDP 2007-2013:

The new €184 billion National Development Plan 2007-2013, building on the significant social and economic achievements of the NDP/CSF (2000-2006) was launched in January 2007. The Plan is  entirely funded from exchequer resources, so there will be no EU structural funds involved and therefore no EU monitoring or review role. The NDP will incorporate and build on Government policies and strategies already published, such as;

• National Spatial Strategy
• Transport 21
• MACIF
• NEAP/NRP
• NAPS/NAPSI
• NRDS
• Towards 2016

The NDP will continue investment in the main sectors of the economy as heretofore and will address:

• Economic & Social Infrastructure
• Productive Sector
• Employment & Human Resources
• Agriculture and Rural Development.

The new NDP 2007-2013 has been prepared in circumstances where the National Spatial Strategy is now official government policy and the blueprint to address the core issue of balanced regional development. The proposed development of key centres of critical mass to challenge the dominance of Dublin is generally to be welcomed and it is understood that the NSS will therefore be a key strategy in the NDP 2007-2013. A consensus is emerging that the NDP will need to provide significant investment to develop the Gateways.

The Authority will continue its active engagement with the Dept. of Finance to ensure that the investment priorities for the midlands as submitted are given due priority and funding allocations. The Regional Authorities will continue to be  involved in ongoing monitoring and review arrangements and will be represented on the Central Monitoring Committee of the NDP.

National Strategic Reference Framework:

In terms of the contribution from the European Union to Ireland’s efforts, the National Strategic Reference Framework sets out the objectives agreed between Ireland and the European Commission for the period and the financial contributions that the EU is prepared to make to assist in continuing our economic and social progress.  This contribution continues to be a vital element in the effort to maintain economic and social progress and the partnership with the European Commission and, indeed, other Member States, in sharing experience and best practice in tackling the issues faced by modern societies is crucial to our continued success.

However the overall contribution from the EU Structural Funds is significantly less than that of the last period. In total the amount is €901million, split 50/50 between ERDF and ESF.

Funding will be delivered through the following Operational Programmes:

• One national ESF funded Operational Programme.
• Two regional Operational Programmes funded by the ERDF.

In the case of the midlands, the region will come under the BMW OP with funding of €229m. in ERDF and €229m. co-financing by government, totalling €458m.

Identified priorities for the OP are:

• To enhance the research and innovation infrastructure in the region;
• To contribute to sustainable development;
• To strengthen the spatial structuring of the Region;
• To invest in modern Infrastructure

Both the Chairperson and Director are members of the BMW Operational Programme Monitoring Committee. Through membership of the BMW OP MC and engagement with the BMW and Lead Departments and the Authority will work to ensure delivery of the various measures in the BMW OP.

The national ESF Operational Programme will fund activities aimed at improving the workforce and its skills base and measures will support education and training and increasing the adaptability of the workforce. The Authority will work with and support Agencies with lead responsibility in these areas.

The Regional Authorities will also have representation on the NSRF Monitoring Committee.