Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 24 April 2018
34. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the discussions held to date at national and EU level on the possibility of having cohesion funding post 2020 provided for road developments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17740/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraWhile the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform has overall responsibility for EU Cohesion Policy and the European Structural and Investment (ESI) Funds, at the outset I think I should clarify the position regarding the Cohesion Fund. This Fund is aimed at Member States whose Gross National Income (GNI) per inhabitant is less than 90% of the EU average. For the 2014-2020 period, the countries which qualify for the Cohesion Fund are Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia. As a budget contributor, Ireland does not qualify for Cohesion funding.
I am, however, fully engaged in exploring future EU funding options for the transport sector. Following the publication of the National Development Plan and the National Planning Framework, Minister Donohoe and I wrote a joint letter in February to Transport Commissioner Bulc and Regional Policy Commissioner Cretu emphasising the considerable challenges facing Ireland in the transport sector and setting out how the NDP and NPF will inform future investments into the regions, including the West, Border and North West regions which will be particularly impacted by Brexit. We made the point that investment in infrastructure has the potential to mitigate the implications of Brexit in these regions.
Over the coming years, Ireland will continue to prioritise key projects on the Core and Comprehensive networks under the National Development Plan with the objective of enhancing connectivity between the Comprehensive and Core networks and thereby enhancing the sustainability and connectivity of our outermost regions and our connectivity to Northern Ireland.
The Connecting Europe Framework (CEF) is the EU funding instrument developed specifically to direct investment into European transport, energy and digital infrastructures to address identified missing links and bottlenecks. Preparations are underway for CEF 2 and my Department has been participating fully in that process. In this regard the Department wrote to the European Commission in March with its comments on the Commission’s draft proposals. This letter again stressed Ireland’s reliance on its road network and the need for investment in strategic road links.
