Brian Hayes (Dublin South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It was treated in that way. The Deputy is correct. There is €5.9 billion left in the non-discretionary side and he is also right in pointing out the Government's and the Commission's objective of spending close to €700 million for investment purposes. We are always looking at ideas for investment but there are two crucial issues here. I am sure he agrees with me on this. This fund, if it is to be used, must be used as a catalyst for private sector investment. There is no point in picking winners and having the State fund this without getting matching funds from the private sector, otherwise it does not stack up. Crucial in that regard are some good announcements made in recent weeks concerning the capacity for our public utility companies, ESB, Bord Gáis and others, to start getting money back into their entities again after a long spell when money could not be raised. One can point to public private partnerships all over the country as we get back to a more normal circumstance of trying to draw down funds internationally; having that matching funds into this fund makes sense. The other part is that we should only make decisions if it improves our competitiveness. There is no point in spending money willy-nilly on projects that do not derive an economic benefit for the State in terms of improving competitiveness and productivity. That is important.

The Deputy asked about the legislation and made a fair point because, despite the Government announcements, we have yet to see the legislation. It is a key priority of the Department of Finance to bring the legislation forward. We are committed to doing it in 2013. We recognise the money cannot be expended until the legislation is introduced to change the terms of reference for the Commission. It is a priority for the Department and we want to get to it by next year. I cannot give a precise date but I give a commitment to try to get that date from the Minister for Finance as soon as possible. Until the legislation is changed we cannot use the funds for this purpose. We have far too many projects all over the country which, in good times, did not yield any particular result. We need to ensure this time that when those projects are up and running they have the effect of improving economic activity and getting the country to a more productive state and, more important, ensuring they are matched at the very least on a 50:50 basis from the private sector.