Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)

I take this opportunity to congratulate the Minister of State, Deputy O'Dowd, on his appointment and to thank him for his reply. What level of funding does the Minister of State anticipate will be required to fund the NewERA project? Different figures were articulated prior to and during the election campaign, ranging from €7 billion to €18 billion, but the only reference in the programme for Government is to the expectation of raising approximately €2 billion from the sale of non-strategic State assets. How many jobs does the Minister of State expect will be created, as figures of more than 100,000 jobs were being earmarked for the NewERA project? When does he expect Members to have sight of the nuts and bolts or the establishment of the NewERA authority?

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