Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 22 May 2018
189. Deputy Maurice Quinlivan asked the Minister for Education and Skills further to Parliamentary Question No. 121 of 1 May 2018, the reason no funds have been drawn down to date; and when all funds will be drawn down and available. [22102/18]
Amharc ar fhreagra190. Deputy Maurice Quinlivan asked the Minister for Education and Skills further to Parliamentary Question No. 121 of 1 May 2018, the specific schemes or areas that will be financed by the funding available through the youth employment initiative; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22103/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 189 and 190 together.
The YEI is integrated into ESF programming and is being delivered in Ireland as a dedicated priority axis within the ESF Programme for Education, Inclusion and Learning (PEIL) 2014-2020. 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 ESF authorities must be designated in accordance with the EU regulations prior to making the first payment application. This designation is based on the opinion of the Independent Audit Body (IAB) which must be satisfied across a range of criteria that systems are in place to allow the ESF authorities to perform their required functions. These systems requirements include the provision of a computerised accounting and information system for EU funds to meet the 2014-2020 functionality requirements. The final phase of the IT system went live at the end of March 2018. The ESF authorities are engaging with the IAB and it is expected that designation will be completed in the coming weeks.
Preparations are underway for the submission of a first payment application to the Commission in Q3 2018. The European Commission has advised that the potential decommitment at end 2018 is €127.7m, if not claimed in payment applications in the meantime. The ESF authorities will ensure that sufficient payment applications are submitted to fully draw down the EU funding allocations.
While no payment application has been made in respect of the YEI, in accordance with the ESF Regulations initial pre-financing of 3.5% and annual pre-financing for 2016 and 2017, of the EU support for the YEI priority axis, including the ESF matching financing, amounting to some €8.3m has been received to date. Separately, additional initial YEI pre-financing of €19.8m was also received in line with EU Regulation 799 of 2015 but was subsequently reimbursed as Ireland did not submit an interim payment application by May 2016 for at least 50% of the amount advanced. The reimbursement of this amount has not resulted in any loss of EU monies to the Exchequer.
The ESF Managing Authority and the Operational Programme Monitoring Committee (PMC) maintain an ongoing overview of the funding allocations under the PEIL and re-allocate the available funding as required, in accordance with the EU Regulatory provisions.
Seven activities were originally selected for YEI funding namely, the Back to Work Enterprise Allowance (BTWEA); JobBridge; JobsPlus; Momentum; Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme (SICAP); Tús; and Youthreach. Improvements in the rate of youth unemployment coupled with the discontinuance of the JobBridge and Momentum schemes, had consequences for the expenditure expected on YEI activities. Consequently, the PMC agreed to the inclusion of the Community Training Centres; the Defence Forces Employment Support Scheme (DFESS) and the planned Youth Employment Support Scheme (YESS) under the YEI. The PMC agreed to the removal of the Tús, JobBridge and SICAP from the YEI, having unsuccessfully explored the potential to use Simplified Cost Option models and/or in the light of audit trail difficulties. The current activity allocations under the YEI are:
|
Youth Employment Initiative (Priority 4) |
ESF €m |
YEI €m |
Exchequer€m |
Total€m |
|
BTWEA |
1.549 |
1.549 |
1.549 |
4.648 |
|
JobsPlus |
2.664 |
2.664 |
2.664 |
7.992 |
|
Youthreach |
33.719 |
33.719 |
33.719 |
101.156 |
|
Momentum |
4.600 |
4.600 |
4.600 |
13.800 |
|
Community Training Centres |
20.000 |
20.000 |
20.000 |
60.000 |
|
DFESS |
0.280 |
0.280 |
0.280 |
0.840 |
|
YESS |
5.333 |
5.333 |
5.333 |
16.000 |
|
Priority Totals |
68.145 |
68.145 |
68.145 |
204.436 |
