Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 9 June 2020
586. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the projects his Department submitted for funding through the Connecting Europe Facility; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10225/20]
View answerThe Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) is the EU's funding instrument for the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T). Funding under CEF is delivered in the form of grants awarded following competitive calls for proposals. The amount of co-funding awarded varies depending on the criteria for each call, the type of project and the quality of applications. All applications will be assessed and evaluated by the European Commission in conjunction with independent external experts.
The most recent call for proposals was open for applications between 16 October 2019 and 26 February 2020. The call had an indicative budget of €1.4 billion, with €750 million available under the general financial envelope, which was open to all Member States. The balance of €650 million was only open to Member States eligible for Cohesion Fund support, which does not include Ireland.
- The call had various budget lines dedicated to the following funding priorities:
- Pre-identified projects on the Core Network;
- European Rail Traffic Management Systems (ERTMS): on-board deployment;
- Safe and secure infrastructure, including safe and secure parking on the road core network;
- Intelligent Transport Services for road (ITS);
- Single European Sky (SESAR);
- Actions implementing transport infrastructure in nodes of the core network, including urban nodes (passengers transport); and
- Motorways of the Sea.
There were 9 projects in total either submitted by or involving participating Irish applicants, all of which were endorsed and signed off by my Department.
3 of the applications under this call, relating to the rail sector, and details of which are set out below, were submitted directly by my Department. Two of these were prepared in conjunction with Iarnród Éireann.
1. DART Expansion Programme: Kildare Line Study My Department is seeking 50% CEF co-funding for an engineering design study as part of the DART Expansion Programme. This study concerns the development of the Kildare Line, one of seven Work Packages in the Programme, and consists of crucial steps necessary in advance of moving to the construction phase of this project.
2. Upgrade of the DART Passenger Information System A separate application concerns the upgrading of the Passenger Information System on the existing DART fleet. This upgrade is necessary in order to ensure that the latest technology, which will be part of all newly procured DART rolling stock, is experienced by passengers across the entire DART fleet. As this is classified under CEF as a works project, my Department is seeking the maximum co-funding rate available of 30%.
3. Higher Speed Rail Study The final application submitted by my Department, a rail study project seeking 50% co-funding, addresses a commitment in the National Development Plan to undertake an evaluation of the economic benefits of high-speed rail between Dublin-Belfast, Dublin-Limerick Junction, and Dublin-Cork against the improvements to existing line speeds. The purpose of this study is to develop a design concept for the inter-urban railway network over the period to 2040 that can inform future investment in infrastructure, railway operations and planning.
Aside from those submitted directly by my Department, a further 3 projects were submitted by Ireland’s three core TEN-T maritime ports: Dublin, Cork, and Shannon-Foynes, while a further 2 projects involve the Irish Maritime Development Office (IMDO) and are study projects involving multiple Member States addressing alternative fuels, energy and technology funding objectives the Motorways of the Sea priority.
In addition to this, a number of Irish aviation bodies are involved, in an administrative capacity only, in a CEF application for funding under the EU’S SESAR (Single European Sky Air Traffic Management Research) collaborative project.
The selection decision of successful projects is expected to be finalised in July 2020. Based on the quality of proposals made I am confident and hopeful that Irish applicants will draw down significant funds from this call. However, the oversubscription rate for funding under the general envelope of this call was approximately 2.4 : 1, highlighting the competitive nature of this funding opportunity.
Over the period 2014 to June 2019, Irish beneficiaries were participating in 24 projects involving €103 million in CEF Transport co-funding, and with overall investments in these projects of €403.7 million. My Department continues to actively encourage and engage with any potential CEF applicants to ensure a strong pipeline of Irish applications for future CEF funding opportunities. Further information about CEF, TEN-T and the application process are available on my Department's website at the following link:
https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/331b18-trans-european-network-for-transport-ten-t-and-connecting-europe-fac/
