West is wide awake and fighting for its EU funds

Who fears to speak of a united Ireland? Certainly several voices in the west do now, as a decision on the next round of EU structural funding looms.

In fact, 13 counties no longer want to be automatically considered as part of the Republic's 26 never mind an island's 32 if it means losing the magical Objective One status in Brussels. [To obtain Objective One status in the EU a region must fall below 75 per cent of the average GDP per capita of the 15 EU memberstates.]

However, a Government commitment to taking this approach for the next structural fund round is being "fudged", according to the Fine Gael TD for Galway West, Mr Padraig McCormack.

Mr McCormack is hoping to strengthen Fine Gael support for the Objective One campaign which is being pursued by the Council for the West, the Western Development Commission, the Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) and the Chambers of Commerce of Ireland West Region, among others.

The campaign, which is gathering considerable steam, incorporates 13 counties in the west and midlands where the average GDP is less than 75 per cent.

"Life and death for the west" is how the IFA's Connacht vice-president, Mr Sean Ryan, views the impending Government decision on a strategy, which will be copper-fastened in a national development plan. His argument is backed up by figures cited by Mr McCormack which indicate that Connacht, the Border counties and four midland counties fared badly out of the last structural fund round receiving £1.683 billion, compared to £1.721 billion for Meath, Dublin, Kildare and Wicklow and £3.492 billion for the nine southern counties.

"If we look at the NESC report on population distribution and economic development, published in December 1997, we see that the percentage change in employment by region from 1971 to 1996 for the Border region is 5 per cent up. For the western region, it is 5.7 per cent up compared to 23 per cent for the rest of the country," Mr McCormack says.

"And if we look at the 1996 Labour Force Survey, it shows job increases of 50,000 in the Munster/Leinster region, but an increase of only 2,000 in the Connacht/Ulster region in the same period."

On population trends, the west, Border and midlands also did poorly, he says. The most recent figures show a population decline from 977,221 in the 1986 census, to 944,865 in the 1991 census a drop of 32,356.

"While there was a slight recovery in the 1996 census to 965,190, the region is still less populated than it was 10 years ago," he says. This contrasts with an increase elsewhere.

The most relevant figure to make his case is the percentage of European GDP 68 per cent in the case of the west, Border and midland counties, compared to a national average of 92 per cent which definitely rules out the Republic's Objective One qualification next time round. Precedents for regional designation include the Highlands of Scotland, the Hainault region of Belgium, Merseyside in England, the north of France and southern Italy all of which are Objective One.

The European Commission's strategy, Agenda 2000, proposes a significant simplification of structural funds, including community initiatives and refers to transitional arrangements for those existing Objective One regions which no longer meet the eligibility threshold. Recent statements by the Minister for Finance, Mr McCreevy, indicating support for this approach, have been criticised by the western and midland lobby. The Minister has said that EU funds for 2000 to 2006 will be "skewed" in favour of poorer areas a strategy which falls short of regional designation.

"It is pie in the sky for the Government to be saying that we will apply for EU funding for the country as a whole and then divide it nationally," Mr McCormack contends. "The Government plan is to apply for all of Ireland to be designated as having transitional status, which will give it control of the distribution of funds. If it gets away with it, it will be to the detriment of the west." Naturally, Mr McCormack has his own agenda, including several projects for a booming Galway the State's fastest growing city.

This includes the Connemara Environment Project, which involves two water-supply schemes for Connemara and the Aran Islands.

However, he believes that the Government is using the old argument about lack of structures to distribute funds regionally as a way of ducking out of the issue. "That's an excuse. There are structures." The Chambers of Commerce of Ireland, West Region, says that the Western Regional Authority must be assigned the necessary executive powers and resources to administer and monitor the funds. "It is important that if funds are assigned locally, that the authority to administer those funds is also provided locally in keeping with the EU's policy of subsidiarity," Mr Jarlath Feeney, its spokesman has said.

The western regional chambers comprise Galway, Mayo and Roscommon.

The Council for the West, which published a recent report on the issue, The West of Ireland A New Deal for Regeneration, has made it clear that this is not an east-versus-west debate about Euro loot.

It does point out, however, that the three regions falling below the European average of GDP represent over half the territory of the state, and contain 25 per cent of the population.