Robert Troy
Question:164. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Finance to set out the proceeds to the Exchequer from the sale of Aer Lingus; and the areas where these proceeds have been invested. [31990/16]
View answerTuesday, 25 October 2016
Questions (164)
Written answers
As the Deputy will be aware, the Connectivity Fund was formed to invest the €335 million proceeds from the sale of the State's shareholding in Aer Lingus with the aim of enabling and enhancing Ireland's physical, virtual and energy connectivity.
The establishment of the Connectivity Fund reflected the consistent policy of the Government that proceeds received from the sale of assets should be used to support and sustain economic recovery and employment creation. Under Eurostat rules, the proceeds arising from the sale of the State's shares in Aer Lingus, representing the sale of a financial asset, had no beneficial impact on Ireland's General Government Balance (GGB), and so would not provide any capacity for additional Government expenditure on a GGB neutral basis.
It is for that reason that the Government decided to allocate the proceeds of the sale of the State's shareholding in Aer Lingus to a special fund, which will operate on a commercial basis and therefore not constitute Government expenditure, but will facilitate the re-use of the proceeds for productive purposes within the economy on a General Government Balance neutral basis.
ISIF has informed me that it recently announced the completion of its first two investments from the Connectivity Fund. The combined value of these investments is €57m and includes:
- An initial €22 million equity investment in Aqua Comms DAC, the operator of Ireland's first dedicated sub-sea fibre-optic network. The cable lands in Killala County Mayo and interconnects New York, Dublin and London. The Aqua Comms network will be used by major multinational technology and telecoms companies to provide fast, secure data connections between Ireland, the US and UK and will enable the continued growth of the Irish digital economy.
- The rolling of an existing (NPRF) commitment in daa plc's public bond, which was issued in 2008 (repayable in 2018), into a €35 million commitment in a new 2028 public bond issuance by daa, the operator of Dublin and Cork Airports. This continues ISIF's role as a long-term, strategic, domestic investor in daa.
The economic impact of all ISIF investments, which includes the Connectivity Fund, is outlined in the Fund's semi-annual, fund level, economic impact reports, which include regional deployment data. As at December 2015, the ISIF economic impact report demonstrated regionally balanced investments with 60% of jobs supported and 46% of capital invested outside of Dublin. That report is available on the ISIF website at: http://www.isif.ie/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Economic-Impact-Report-as-at-31-Dec-2015-FINAL. pdf. The report as at 30 June 2016 is expected to be published in early December.
Several other Connectivity Fund investment opportunities are currently being assessed under the ISIF's "double bottom line" mandate, which is to seek both commercial return and economic impact. These connectivity opportunities include potential investments in energy, air, sea and further data connectivity projects and businesses seeking to expand and enhance Ireland's international links.