Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 21 June 2016
322. Deputy Micheál Martin asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the status of his recent correspondence to the President of the European Commission regarding European Union rules posing a significant threat to the ability to fund major projects in housing. [16952/16]
View answerReplies have not yet been received to either the letter sent by the Taoiseach to President Juncker or the letter sent by my predecessor to Commissioner Thyssen, regarding the Government's concerns at the changing approach being taken by Eurostat to interpreting the agreed ESA 2010 rules governing the balance sheet classifications of PPPs.
However, I understand from informal contacts at official level with the Commission that a draft reply to An Taoiseach is now with President Juncker and should issue in due course, while the reply to the letter from my predecessor is also expected to issue shortly.
Notwithstanding this position, there has been significant engagement in Brussels on this important matter in recent weeks. Minister Noonan raised the point at the May Eurogroup meeting and received support on the issue, while it was also raised at the Economic and Financial Committee in June as well as at meetings of Coreper and of Financial Counsellors, in addition to also being discussed informally on the margins of meetings.
A meeting between Member States and Eurostat representatives, under the auspices of the European PPP Expertise Centre (EPEC), is scheduled for 6th July to discuss the matter. That meeting will review the latest changes to PPP statistical rules in the Eurostat Manual on Government Deficit and Debt, issued in March, and will also enable Member States to receive an update on the work that is currently underway between EPEC and Eurostat to produce a guidance paper, to be issued jointly by the two organisations, with a view to providing clarity on the statistical classification issue, in view of the confusion that was created by the latest guidance note issued in March.
