Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 23 July 2019
1032. Deputy Marc MacSharry asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation the status of capital projects within the remit of her Department; the amount spent on each project to date; and the anticipated completion date. [34195/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Capital allocation to my Department in 2019 is €620 million. This represents an increase of 11.7% on our 2018 allocation of €555 million. The breakdown of the capital allocations, by subhead, is set out in the following table.
|
Subhead |
2019 REV Allocation CAPITAL (€,000) |
|
A4 - Intertrade Ireland
|
6,695 |
|
A5 - IDA Ireland*
|
162,800* |
|
A6 - NSAI
|
500 |
|
A7 - Enterprise Ireland
|
65,750 |
|
A8 - Local Enterprise Development
|
27,500 |
|
A9 - Temporary Partial Credit Guarantee Scheme |
500 |
|
A10 - INTERREG Enterprise Development
|
3,000 |
|
A14 – Future Growth loan Scheme
|
6,000 |
|
A15 – Humanitarian Relief Scheme
|
1 |
|
B4 – Enterprise Ireland
|
122,000 |
|
B4 – Science Foundation Ireland**
|
179,550** |
|
B4 – Tyndall Institute
|
5,500 |
|
B5 – Programme for Research in Third Level Institutions |
24,300 |
|
B6 – Subscriptions to International Organisations |
23,504 |
|
B9 – Disruptive Technologies Innovation Fund |
20,000 |
|
Total*** |
647,600*** |
*Includes Capital Carryover from 2018 of €20.8m
**Includes Capital Carryover from 2018 of €6.8m
***Includes Capital Carryover from 2018 of €27.6 million
The Capital funding provided to my Department is mainly in the way of grants to support the multi-annual programmes of our enterprise development and innovation agencies.
The National Development Plan (NDP) identified 16 specific Business, Enterprise and Innovation Priority Investments under the “Strong Economy supported by Enterprise, Innovation and Skills” NSO, whose delivery is the prime responsibility for DBEI.
The additional €65million in capital money provided to my Department through the 2019 Estimates has allowed it to progress a number of the DBEI priority projects further in 2019. Specifically,
- the €20m funding provided to the Disruptive Technologies Fund ensured that the funding for projects approved under the first phase of the Fund could be drawn down in 2019
- the additional €10m provided to the IDA has enabled it to continue and expand its programme of providing property solutions, strategic sites and grants to deliver FDI across the regions of the country
- the €6m provided to the Future Growth Loan Scheme, which builds upon the €17m provided to the Scheme in 2018, will assist business to access the finance necessary to enable them to strategically transform/adapt to the impact of Brexit
- the additional €2.75million in capital funding provided to EI has enabled it to progress a number of regionally focussed initiatives with Institutes of Technology through a programme of Regional Innovation and Technology Clusters to support regions across the country to build enterprise capability
- the capital funding provided to EI will has also allowed it to roll out the new €175million Seed and Venture Programme which will focus on fostering a strong pipeline of high growth innovative businesses by increasing the availability of risk capital for start-up/early stage enterprises
- the Department’s increased capital funding will ensure that Ireland can continue to expand and deepen its membership of and collaborations with international research organisations such as the European Southern Observatory and the European Space Agency
- the additional capital funding also allowed the new programmes for Postgraduate Research at Masters and PhD levels to continue to be rolled out
- the additional funding being provided to SFI has enable it to refresh its Research Centres Programme thereby strengthening collaboration with enterprises across all regions of the country
- the additional funding being provided to the Tyndall Institute has enable it to continue to upgrade and expand and stay at the forefront of new technologies.
The increased Capital funding being provided to my Department in 2019 accords with the strategy outlined in the National Development Plan and the increased public capital investment set out in the Plan. This increased Capital funding is a demonstration of the Government’s commitment to deliver on the ambition of the NDP and, insofar as my Department is concerned, to ensure that we, our Agencies and Offices, have the necessary capital resources to meet the various challenges highlighted in the plan, not least in getting business Brexit ready, driving indigenous enterprise and regional growth and investing in research and innovation.
