Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 13 July 2021
535. Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the programmes co-financed by the European Social Fund; the percentage of co-financing; the amount co-financed under each programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37984/21]
View answerThe 2014-2020 ESF Operational Programme was for €1,157m comprising ESF of €952.74m co-financed at 50% and Youth Employment Initiative of €204.4m co-financed at 66.6% by the EU. All ESF activities, including YEI activities, are fully funded up-front by the Exchequer with the EU (ESF/YEI) funding being claimed in arrears. The Programme has been amended on a number of occasions, most recently to avail of the additional flexibilities introduced by the Commission in response to the COVID 19 pandemic. In this context, €60m ESF funding was reallocated to the ERDF to support the purchase of PPE for the Health Services, reducing the overall Programme to €1,037m (a reduction of €120m combining the loss of €60m ESF and the complementary €60m national contribution) and the combined EU contribution to €552.661m. An option to avail of a 100% EU co-financing rate for payment applications made during the 2020/21 financial year, results in fewer activities being claimed. Accordingly it is not now proposed to claim EU cofinancing for Springboard; ICT Skills Conversion; Ability Programme; Gender Equality; Integration of Migrants; and the Youth Employment Support Scheme.
Receipts of €300m have been received on foot of payment applications and distributed to activities as set out in the attached table. A further €21.5m has been received but has yet to be distributed and further receipts are expected on foot of payment applications submitted to the Commission on 30th June. Updated cofinancing data will be available when these receipts are received and distributed.
Ireland’s REACT EU 2021 allocation of €88m will be programmed through the ESF. While the relevant Operational Programme amendment has to be finalised, the intention is to support the education and training measures in the July 2020 Jobs Stimulus package and to assist the transition to online and blended learning in the Higher and Further Education Sector.
For the 2021-27 funding round, the European Social Fund is merged with the YEI, the Fund for European Aid to the most Deprived (FEAD) and the directly managed Employment and Social Innovation (EaSI) Programme, to become the ESF+. A Partnership Process Steering Group has been established to assist and advise the programming authorities throughout the development process for the Partnership Agreement and the various Operational Programmes (including the ESF+). A Needs Analysis was conducted by Indecon Economic Consultants to provide the evidence base for the future ESF+ and ERDF programmes and a public consultation process was undertaken last year. Work is ongoing on the draft Partnership Agreement and draft Operational Programmes with a view to Government Approval and formal submission to the Commission later in 2021.
Ireland’s total ESF+ allocation for 2021-27 is €508m. Ireland will have three NUTS 2 regions in this round, with two different standard rates of co-financing. As ‘more developed’ regions, the Southern and the Eastern & Midlands regions will receive 40% in EU co-financing, while as a ‘transition’ region the North-Western region will receive 60% in EU co-financing. A higher rate of co-financing of up to 95% is available for ‘social innovation’ actions and a co-financing rate of 90% applies to the former FEAD programme. The final allocation between programmes and regions will be determined in the context of discussions with the European Commission on the Partnership Agreement covering all Common Provisions Regulation funds having regard to the regulatory requirements on thematic concentrations.
|
Activity |
Co-financing Receipts Distributed to date |
|
PRIORITY 1 |
|
|
ETB Training for the Unemployed |
€61,810,911 |
|
Intra EU mobility |
€516,760 |
|
Priority 1 Total |
€62,327,670 |
|
PRIORITY 2 |
|
|
SICAP |
€0 |
|
Youthreach |
€19,803,935 |
|
GYDP |
€22,292,949 |
|
YPP |
€3,068,364 |
|
Tus Nua project |
€313,618 |
|
Priority Total |
€45,478,867 |
|
PRIORITY 3 |
|
|
Third Level Access |
€11,283,768 |
|
BTEI |
€36,477,349 |
|
Adult Literacy |
€45,242,906 |
|
Priority Totals |
€93,004,023 |
|
Priority 4 |
|
|
BTWEA |
€0 |
|
JobsPlus |
€0 |
|
Youthreach |
€98,729,451 |
|
Community Training Centres |
€0 |
|
Defence Forces Employment Scheme |
€427,870 |
|
Priority Totals |
€99,157,321 |
|
Priority 5 |
|
|
Technical Assistance |
€710,401 |
|
Total |
€300,678,282 |
