Sir, - It is now being suggested by the economist Mr Jim O'Leary (The Irish Times, October 31st) that the criteria being used by the EU for structural fund purposes is seriously "flawed" and he therefore calls on the Government to maintain the State as one EU region for the purpose of structural funding post 2000. Such an approach is totally irrelevant in the context of the structural funds and I would also query his use of the Household Budget Survey as a "perfect" measure of wealth within the regions.
The EU has laid down the criteria for the disbursement of structural funds quite clearly in Agenda 2000. Any region whose GDP is below 75 per cent of the EU average is entitled to full Objective 1 status and the highest level of structural funds. In Ireland three regions, the West, Border and Midlands, all qualify with an average GDP of 68 per cent. To suggest that the EU fundamentally revises its criteria at this stage is out of the question and only serves to cloud the basic issue. In the debate on structural funds it is now irrelevant to deal with any figures other than regional GDP (or GVA) unless of course one does not want to meet the criteria laid down by the EU and therefore deprive the West, Border and Midlands of their final chance to close the regional disparities within Ireland.
Mr O'Leary also suggests that ranking regions by average household income produces a better if not perfect measure of regional wealth. This is an interesting observation given that the introduction to the latest Household Budget Survey produced by the CSO states: "Comparisons between the income levels of different groups of households could be quite misleading and should be avoided, particularly where income sources differ appreciably."
Despite this warning it is significant that various economists and politicians have used this same set of statistics to muddy the waters on regionalisation. It is further worth noting that other statistics produced on a regional basis, e.g. percentage change in employment by region 1971-1996, age dependency ratios, as well as GVA, clearly show the regional disparities and further strengthen the case for the retention of Objective 1 Status for the three regions concerned. They also emphasise the validity of the argument for regional structures which can respond to the real needs of the region where central structures have so obviously failed.
Mr O'Leary is not alone in the "muddy waters" school of economics which is calling on the Government to abandon thoughts of regionalisation. Mr Brian Goff, representing Dublin City Centre Business Association (November 2nd) suggests that if the Government wishes to be a government of "all" the people it should urgently complete work on all projects in the Dublin Transport Initiative and focus on the unemployed in the disadvantaged areas of Dublin. If we really want a government for all the people, I suggest that it promotes balanced regional development with equality of opportunity for all those living on this island, both rural and urban. Many of us do not accept that creeping urbanisation is in the national interest and that is why we are pressing for the logical decentralisation of administration, funding and settlement.
Fintan O'Toole (Opinion, October 30th) says that rural Ireland no longer exists. He arrogantly wipes out the 1.5 million people who, according to the CSO Census 1996, live in rural Ireland. We have disappeared from the map in the consciousness of some - a type of pseudo-intellectual "ethnic cleansing".
Regionalisation is not, and never has been, an urban versus rural issue and those who attempt to portray it as such do a disservice to those who are genuinely disadvantaged.
The retention of full Objective 1 status for the regions that qualify, using the criteria of GVA laid down by the EU, along with a government commitment to tackling disadvantage in all regions, is a reasonable way forward and one that should be pursued by Government immediately. - Yours, etc., Marian Harkin,
Chairperson, Council for the West, Business Centre, Market Yard, Sligo.