asked the Minister for Finance if tourism promotion schemes comparable to the £2 million package announced for County Monaghan are to be provided for other parts of the country; and if so, if he will give details of such schemes.

I assume the Deputy is referring to the tourism promotion package for the Border counties and Sligo which was announced recently by the Minister for Tourism and Transport and which is being assisted by the EC from the European Regional Development Fund. The total cost of this promotion package is £900,000.

This forms part of a special Border area programme already approved under the previous ERDF Regulation and cannot be extended to other parts of the country. However, a national development plan and programmes are being prepared under the new regime for the EC funds. These will include some provision for marketing support schemes in the tourism sector.