asked the Minister for Finance if he will make a statement regarding the £200,000 from the European Regional Development Fund which might not be made available to Bord Fáilte for promotional purposes in the Border counties.

The EEC Regulation which governs the Special Border Areas Programme restricted aid from the non-quota section of the European Regional Development Fund for tourism promotion to three years of the five-year period of the programme. Since the allocations to Bord Fáilte in 1981, 1982 and 1983 were partly applied for promotion purposes, the provisions of the governing regulation preclude any further allocation in respect of the promotional element from the Regional Fund aid after 1983. I would add, however, that all other Bord Fáilte activities will continue to be eligible for Regional Fund aid for the full duration of the programme.

The last sentence of the reply does not take the sting out of what goes before that. When did the Minister become aware of the fact that aid for cross-Border promotional activities was being withdrawn from Bord Fáilte?

As I pointed out in my reply, the regulation governing the programme restricted aid from the non-quota section of the Regional Development Fund for promotional purposes to three years. That is Council Regulation No. 2619 of 1980, which governs the operation of the non-quota section and which was passed and published in October 1980. Article 4 deals with things which qualify for assistance. Article 5.1B says that aid for operations for the promotion of tourism under .2 of Article 4 and covering part of the operating costs of the bodies shall last for three years. It was written in the regulation which was passed in 1980. It was, therefore, known since 1980.

Possibly in 1980 all this was done in good faith because we were not experiencing the recession we are in now——

A question, please.

——along the Border. What has the Minister done since he came into office to try to have this regulation rescinded or to make some effort to see that this could be extended for a further two years, especially in view of the fact that there is a fund to the tune of £15 million and that by the end of 1985, when the ERDF runs out, we will not have spent half of it? On numerous occasions over the last 12 months the Minister has expressed himself as being concerned about the Border areas.

We cannot have these long harangues at Question Time.

I cannot help it if I am unable to ask more concise questions.

Humanly I could allow you to go on but Standing Orders do not permit it.

In view of the Minister's familiarity with conditions along the Border and the difficulties which we are experiencing, will he provide moneys out of some other fund or out of the national fund to ensure that cross-Border promotional activities continue?

The last question which the Deputy asked after his speech is a very different question. As far as the original question is concerned, as I have already said, the operation of the fund is governed by the regulation of 1980 which specifically provided that tourism promotion would be covered for three of the five years. I do not propose at this point to look for a change in that regulation. I do not propose either to try to renegotiate any part of it because I do not think that would be either wise or useful. I make the point, however, that all the other activities in which Bord Fáilte are engaged in the Border area will still fall to be assisted by the fund. That, as far as I am concerned, is about as much as a nod don eolach as I can give in this House.

Would the Minister agree that, without changing the regulations and the criteria, his Department could approve the appointment of an administrator or co-ordinator who would administer that fund on the ground since the lack of such an administrator has been a weakness in the fund?

That is a separate question. I do not agree, for the reasons I have pointed out on several occasions during previous debates in this House, that that has been a weakness in the fund. The weaknesses have been in other areas and I am glad to say that this year we have made progress in dealing with them.

I will stay with this question all day if that is what Deputies want and if they think that that is the best and fairest use of Question Time, although the Chair does not think so.

We are interested in this, although the Minister is not.

I am thinking of the questions coming after this.

This is a very important question.

Every question is important; otherwise it would not be on the Order Paper.

Could the fund be used for roads, fishing facilities and that sort of thing?

I wish to ask a final supplementary.

Has the Deputy a question?

Is the fact that the Minister is not prepared to negotiate and does not consider it worthwhile to do so an indication that he is not interested in promotional activities along the Border?

That is argument and I am not allowing it.

It is a very appropriate question.

It is argument. I am calling Question No. 4.

The Minister seems to wish to answer.

I am in your hands, Sir, and consequently will resist the temptation to respond to the provocation offered by Deputy Gallagher.

4.