Mr. Andrew McDowell:

In terms of the advice we can offer, we draw from our experience in financing similar projects across Europe to develop off-balance sheet structures consistent with the statistical rules from EUROSTAT to finance infrastructure projects at minimum cost to the State. We host a body called the European PPP Expertise Centre, EPEC, which is the centre of expertise within Europe for designing and implementing PPPs. It works with all of the national authorities. Last year, we jointly published with EUROSTAT a guide for national authorities on how to design PPPs in a way that is consistent with the statistical classification rules of EUROSTAT. In other words, there are certain limits to the support states can offer to PPPs before the whole structure comes back onto the government's balance sheet in terms of the types of guarantees it can offer to private investors that are funding those PPPs. We can bring advice to member states on how far they can go in supporting those projects with guarantees before they are reclassified as on-balance sheet investments. We are engaged on this issue with the Irish Government through the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and the NDFA.

On the Deputy's question regarding the fiscal rules, the EIB is not involved, formally, in a policy review of the fiscal rules.