Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 19 December 2012
135. Deputy Paudie Coffey asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if he will provide in tabular form, the total amount of capital funding his Department has allocated to Waterford for the years 2011 and 2012; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [57287/12]
View answerTotal capital expenditure by my Department for the country as a whole was €123m in 2011 and is currently forecast at around €85m for 2012. This expenditure is not allocated at county level.
The most significant component of my Departments capital expenditure is in respect of energy efficiency programmes administered by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland. They have advised me that spending under these schemes amounted to around €5.1 million in 2011 and around €1.5 million in 2012 on their Better Energy programmes in Waterford.
In addition, in 2011, the Geological Survey of Ireland (GSI), as part of the INFOMAR Programme funded by my Department, fully mapped Waterford Harbour and approaches. This work utilised two state research vessels at an estimated cost of €250,000.
Finally, the Deputy may wish to note that there were 31 electoral divisions in County Waterford covered by the National Broadband Scheme (NBS). The actual expenditure is not available as it is part of a national contract for the NBS.
