Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 26 July 2022
1460. Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science further to Parliamentary Question No. 1220 of 14 June 2022, the reason for the substantial decline in the level of European Social Fund funding in 2022 from previous years. [40684/22]
View answerThe European Social Fund (ESF) is the EU's key instrument for investing in people, focusing on improving employment and education opportunities as well as enhancing social inclusion and tackling poverty. ESF Funding is allocated over 7 year programming periods aligned to the EU’s Multi-annual Financial Framework (MFF).
It is important to note that the activities included in the ESF programmes are fully funded up-front by the Exchequer with the ESF funding claimed in arrears.
The original overall expenditure under the 2014-2020 ESF Operational Programme was €1,157m with EU co-financing of €613m (including both the ESF and Youth Employment Initiative allocations). Following the exceptional measures introduced by the Commission in response to the COVID 19 pandemic, the Programme Monitoring Committee in September 2020 agreed to (and subsequently approved by the Commission in December 2020):
(a) transfer €60m of the ESF allocation to the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) to support the cost of supplying essential Personal Protective Equipment for use in the fight against COVID 19; and
(b) avail of the optional co-financing rate of 100% to be applied to expenditure declared during the 2020/21 financial year (from 1 July to 30 June).
The transfer to the ERDF reduced the overall expenditure to €1,037m (a reduction of €120m combining the reallocation of €60m ESF and the complementary €60m national contribution) and the EU contribution to €552.661m.
To-date, 97% of the 2014-2020 EU ESF Allocation (€552.661m) has been received and distributed, with the remaining €18m to be distributed after the formal Closure process is complete in line with the EU regulations. Accordingly, the main reason for the reduction in ESF receipts in 2022 is due to the accelerated drawdown of ESF funds in 2021.
