Patrick Nulty
Ceist:303 Deputy Patrick Nulty asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the amount of EU structural funds to Ireland that remain unspent; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25076/12]
Amharc ar fhreagraTuesday, 22 May 2012
Ceisteanna (216, 217)
Freagraí scríofa
Ireland has been allocated a total of €901m in EU Structural Funding for the period 2007-13. Of this, €750 million is assigned to the Regional Competitiveness and Employment (RCE) objective, and the balance to Territorial Co-operation programmes, including the including the PEACE III (Ireland/NI), INTERREG IVA (Ireland/NI and Western Scotland) and the Ireland Wales Programme. The RCE objective is being delivered through three operational programmes, the National ESF Human Capital Investment OP, managed by the Department of Education and Skills, and the Border Midland and Western (BMW) and Southern and Eastern Regional ERDF (S&E) OPs, managed by the BMW and S&E Regional Assemblies.
The general programme priorities in Ireland are the promotion and encouragement of innovation, the knowledge economy, enterprise, research and development, up-skilling the workforce and increasing the participation of groups outside the workforce.
It is expected that the overall objectives of each programme will be achieved and that Ireland will drawdown all the funding we have been allocated. Ireland currently has no unallocated Structural Funds. Indeed, recent Commission figures show that Ireland has the highest absorption rate for Structural Funds in the EU. 48% of our overall allocation under the 2007-2013 round has been drawn down or is in the process of being drawn down, and it is expected that the remaining 52% allocated to Ireland will be drawn down over the lifetime of the round.
As the Deputy is aware, there are discussions at EU level about a potential package to stimulate growth and competitiveness. If additional EU funding, through unallocated structural funds or otherwise, becomes available, Ireland will of course make the necessary application. I discussed these issues last week in meetings with the EU Commission and the European Parliament.
Patrick Nulty
Ceist:304 Deputy Patrick Nulty asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will present a list of the shovel ready projects the Government is preparing for consideration under funding that may come available as part of any new EU stimulus funding; the criteria being used to select such projects and the Departments he consulted with regarding the proposals; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25103/12]
Amharc ar fhreagraSince coming into office, the current Government has been working on a range of measures to boost employment and help stimulate economic growth. The first such measure announced by the Government was the Jobs Initiative, launched in May 2011, which comprised a range of taxation and expenditure measures of €1.8bn designed to help get people back to work. Further work to stimulate economic growth and create employment is ongoing and, in this context, my Department has been actively engaged in identifying potential new sources of funding for projects where it makes sense and offers value for money for the State.
As part of the review of capital expenditure carried out by my Department last year, all Departments were invited to submit proposals in relation to their capital expenditure priorities for the period 2012 to 2016. The results of that review were published in the "Infrastructure and Capital Investment 2012-2016: Medium Term Exchequer Framework" which sets out €17 billion worth of Exchequer investment intended to address critical infrastructure investment gaps in order to aid economic recovery, social cohesion and environmental sustainability. The sectors prioritised for investment in the Framework include education, health, jobs and enterprise.
The Government is now considering carefully what potential further projects could be supported should a source of additional funding become available. It is likely that such investment would be focused on areas that meet the Government's key investment priorities, boost employment and help stimulate economic growth. Submissions made by Departments as part of the Capital Review process have formed the basis of any consideration of projects to be progressed should a source of funding become available. My Department has also established a high level interdepartmental steering committee which will consider potential projects for investment.