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

On 17 July 2012, the Government announced its plans for an additional €2.25 billion investment in public infrastructure projects in Ireland. The stimulus package included €850 million in Exchequer investment to be funded from the proceeds of the sale of State assets and from the new licensing arrangements for the national lottery. This investment will be used as a project preparation facility for the new public-private partnership, PPP, programme and to fund additional Exchequer capital projects and other commercial and publicly needed projects.

With regard to the national lottery licence, we have already committed to using some of the proceeds from the licence to part fund the new national children's hospital. In addition to this, officials from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform are examining other potential Exchequer projects which can be funded as part of the stimulus plan. They are also considering the selection criteria to be applied and how best to channel funds to commercial projects.

With regard to the use of proceeds generated from the sale of State assets, it has been the Government’s consistent position that funds released from the disposals should be used to support job creating initiatives in the economy. As the Deputy will be aware, the agreement with the troika is that all of the Government’s proceeds from the State asset disposal programme will be available, in one shape or another, to support job-creating initiatives in the economy. Half of the proceeds will be available to fund employment enhancing projects of a commercial nature. The other half, while destined eventually to pay down debt, will in the first instance be constituted as a fund to underpin additional lending into Ireland in support of further investment in job-creating initiatives.

Due to the commercial sensitivities surrounding both the sale of State assets and the licensing arrangement for the national lottery, it is not possible to comment at present on the expected quantum of funding or on specific projects to be funded. As the Deputy is aware, the enabling legislation on the new arrangements for the national lottery licence was published by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform in December. The asset disposal programme will start later in 2013. Details of these aspects will become clearer as asset sales progress and the new licensing arrangement are put in place.

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