Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 17 June 2014
302. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the total amount of capital spending on construction projects carried out by his Department and by bodies operating under the responsibility of his Department between 2008 and to date in 2014; if he will provide the information on an annual basis in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25541/14]
View answer303. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the amount of the €442 million designated to his Department for direct Exchequer capital funding according to the Government Estimates for 2014 is expected to go towards construction related projects; if he will list the projects; if he will provide an update on any of these projects; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25557/14]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 302 and 303 together.
The Gross Exchequer Capital Allocation for 2014 for my Department is €442 million.
This funding essentially supports capital programmes of a number of agencies operating under the aegis of my Department such as IDA Ireland, Enterprise Ireland, the Local Enterprise Offices, InterTrade Ireland, INTERREG, the National Standards Authority of Ireland, Science Foundation Ireland, the Programme for Research in Third Level Institutions (PRTLI), Tyndall National Institute and the Temporary Partial Credit Guarantee Scheme.
The funding provided to the agencies is used to operate programmes that provide a range of grants, supports and financial facilities to clients. Capital funding also covers the maintenance and development of the agencies' buildings and upgrading of equipment.
The following table details the total amount of Capital spending on construction projects carried out under the aegis of my Department between 2008 and to date in 2014.
DJEI Construction Related Capital Expenditure
|
2008 |
2009 |
2010* |
2011 |
2012 |
2013** |
2014 |
|
€'000 |
€'000 |
€'000 |
€'000 |
€'000 |
€'000 |
€'000 |
|
42.36 |
31.42 |
32.82 |
44.33 |
37.90 |
27.81 |
12.09 |
* Responsibility for the Programme for Research in Third-Level Institutions transferred to the Department in May 2010.
** The finalised 2013 figure is subject to normal annual audit completion.
Details of the Capital funding provided towards construction projects by a number of the agencies/programmes under the remit of my Department in 2014 are provided as follows:
Programme for Research in Third-level Institutions (PRTLI)
Under the Programme for Research in Third-level Institutions (PRTLI) €16.7 million in capital funding is being provided through my Department in 2014 to meet expenditure commitments and to maintain continued support to a number of construction related research projects. The PRTLI also includes matching private and EU co-funding with most projects having multiple academic and industry partners. The Deputy should also note that the PRTLI element is often part of bigger infrastructure projects supported across the various colleges. The PRTLI programme is administered on behalf of my Department by the Higher Education Authority. The specific PRTLI capital infrastructural projects being supported by my Department (with lead higher education institution listed) at this time are:
|
Dublin City University |
- Nano-Bio Analytical Research Facility |
|
NUI Maynooth |
- ICT Infrastructure - Innovation Value Institute - Phase 2 |
|
University Limerick |
- National Centre for Applied Materials Research |
|
NUI Galway |
- Advancing Medicine - Arts Humanities Social Sciences Research Building |
|
University College Dublin |
- Science Centre - Phase 2 - Science Centre – Link |
|
Trinity College Dublin |
- TCD Biomedical Sciences Development - Irish Transgenic Network |
|
University College Cork |
- Translating Biosciences into Health - Environmental Research Institute at the Maritime & Energy Cluster Ireland - Generating Wealth through Innovative & Collaborative Research - Tyndall Flexifab for Applied Convergent Nanotechnologies |
|
Cork Institute of Technology |
- Centre for Research in Advanced Therapeutic Engineering |
|
Dublin Institute of Technology |
- Environmental Health Sciences Institute |
Enterprise Ireland
Enterprise Ireland, through its Research and Innovation Programme, has supported the development of campus incubation centres in the Universities and Institutes of Technology with the objective of fostering spinouts from research in the colleges, and spin-ins from outside the college environment which leverage third level expertise to develop their start-up venture. Such facilities are internationally recognised as an important element of public assistance for fostering entrepreneurship and technology-intensive start-ups.
To date EI has invested approximately €50m over the past ten years in the provision of campus incubation facilities across Ireland. Incubation units are currently host to over 300 companies, employing over 1,500 people. These firms are operating in a range of sectors such as software, medical devices, digital media and green technologies.
Enterprise Ireland also provides capital funding to the Community Enterprise Centre Programme. The main objective of this initiative is to enhance the development of an enterprise culture through the provision of infrastructural facilities to support the establishment and expansion of micro-enterprises through local community participation in both urban and rural locations. Enterprise Ireland estimates that in the region of €1.5m will be expended on construction related projects this year.
IDA Ireland
IDA Ireland's Capital allocation for 2014 provides funding towards IDA’s property function and grant payments. The majority of IDA grants paid in 2014 will be in the areas of Research, Development and Innovation, Training and Employment Projects and a small number of New Industry (Capital) Projects. These latter grants are paid in the main for construction projects by client companies.
IDA grants are drawn down by client companies on reaching the relevant grant payment milestones and targets. Commercial sensitivities and the demand led nature of payments preclude IDA Ireland from providing details of New Industry Grants in 2014 until they are drawn down by IDA clients.
In order to boost regional development and win new business IDA Ireland has signed contracts for the erection of advance manufacturing facilities in Waterford and Athlone. Both facilities are expected to be completed by year end. As IDA Ireland's property function is almost entirely self-financing, the proposed buildings will be funded by the IDA.
INTERREG
My Department co-funds a range of Enterprise projects under an INTERREG North-South programme. It is anticipated that approximately €1.72 million of my Department's capital expenditure this year was will be incurred on INTERREGg related construction projects. This will involve the provision of various facilities to assist the development of specific enterprise initiatives in the border region.
A very significant project involves the construction of a new facility in Letterkenny, County Donegal, (Letterkenny Institute of Technology (LYIT)), with a total cost of €4.5m and this project will significantly enhance the development of Science, Research and Innovation in the North West region. This initiative, in tandem with a similar facility in Derry City, is a cross border project, co-funded by the EU's Regional Development Fund through the INTERREG IVA Programme. It involves co-funding from my Department and by the Northern Ireland Department of Finance and Personnel. The new building in Letterkenny, when completed, will provide new business units and significant research space and will serve as an extension to the existing, very successful CoLab facility at LYIT, which currently houses 28 start-up companies.
