How ERDF funds reach your local authority project

ERDF projects are subject to the most rigorous audit regime in EU structural funds. On-the-Spot Verification Visits (OTSVs) are mandatory — financial instruments are classified as high risk and visited annually. Public procurement failures (failure to use TED/eTenders, incorrect tender thresholds, inadequate documentation) are the most common cause of financial corrections in ERDF. Retain all project documentation per CPR Art. 82 — 5 years from 31 December of the year in which the final payment was made. ⚠️ Ireland's ERDF Managing Authority varies by Operational Programme — confirm from your grant agreement.

ERDFReg. (EU) 2021/1058 · CPR Reg. (EU) 2021/1060 · EU Procurement Directive 2014/24/EUIreland: 60% Northern & Western · 40% Southern and Eastern & Midland

How the money reaches an organisation

Every level here can be asked for its own process map. That is the point of yours.

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European Commission — DG Regional & Urban Policy

Allocates ERDF under Reg. (EU) 2021/1058; Joint Audit Directorate performs EU-level audits of operations

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Managing Authority (Ireland — varies by OP)

⚠️ Confirm your specific Managing Authority from your grant agreement / Operational Programme documents

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Intermediate Body / Government Department

Conducts CPR Art. 74 management verifications; administrative and on-the-spot checks

👉 Your organisation sits at this level

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Your Local Authority — the beneficiary on the grant agreement

In EU wording you are the beneficiary, which confuses everyone: it means you hold the grant, not that you receive the service. Responsible for procurement compliance, works delivery, financial reporting and document retention — 5 years from 31 December of the year of final payment.

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Final Beneficiaries

The people who use what gets built: residents, businesses, commuters, visitors — the ones an on-the-spot verification visit expects to find actually using it.

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Audit Chain + Annual OTSV

ECA → Joint Audit Directorate → Audit Authority → C&AG → Managing Authority → IB → Local Authority

Process maps under this programme

Local Authority — ERDF Capital ProjectTo deliver a capital project the council could not otherwise afford — so that what is built survives audit and is still being used by residents in five years.

Where this came from

Regulation (EU) 2021/1060 (Common Provisions Regulation), Article 112 — Official Journal of the European Union

Read against the source on 2026-09-02.

What that check changed: The co-financing rates given — 80%, 60%, 50% — are not the regulation’s. Article 112 sets 85%, 60% and 40%, with two in-between cases. For Ireland only two apply, and the entry now names those.