Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Public infrastructure is funded primarily by two sources of funding at the moment, namely, Exchequer financing, the vast bulk of funding, and PPP sourced funding. The PPP mechanism allows the State to leverage its resources and access additional investment to supplement the Exchequer capital programme, progressing needed infrastructure investment while generating economic activity and supporting employment.

Last July, the Government announced its plans for an additional €2.25 billion investment in public infrastructure projects in Ireland over and above our existing Exchequer funded capital investment plan. The stimulus package comprises two elements. The first is a €1.4 billion to fund the proposed new PPPs. This will come from the European Investment Bank, the National Pensions Reserve Fund, domestic banks and other potential sources of funding. The National Development Finance Agency and the Department of Finance are leading on sourcing this funding and are liaising with my Department in this regard.

The second element is a package of €850 million coming from the proceeds of the sale of State assets and from the new licensing arrangements for the national lottery, to be used as a project preparation facility for the new PPP programme and to fund additional Exchequer capital projects and other commercial and publicly needed projects.

The European Investment Bank is a strong and valuable support and partner in our PPP programme. In the past it has provided funding for a number of PPP projects, especially under the major motorway roads programme. More recently, it has supported two PPP projects, marking the reopening of the Irish PPP market following several years of international slowdown and difficulties in the market.

In November 2012 the latest bundle of PPP schools was signed off on by all partners. Work commenced immediately on eight sites around the country, supplementing the Exchequer funded schools building programme. We will be monitoring the number of jobs created through the stimulus package on an ongoing basis. This has already started on a pilot basis with the schools bundle 3 project which has an estimated capital value of €100 million. To date, some 924 direct full-time jobs have been created on the eight sites.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House

Work has also begun on the N11-Newlands Cross PPP project which was signed off on on 30 April. This is a bundle of two projects, the first of which involves removing the bottleneck at Newlands Cross on the N7 Limerick-Cork-Waterford road in Dublin. The second will be an upgrade of the N11 between Arklow and Rathnew to a four lane dual carriageway. The National Roads Authority, the National Development Finance Agency, the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport and the funders - the EIB and Bank of Ireland - have all made significant efforts to deliver these projects in order to underpin market confidence that the PPP market is prepared and ready for the roll-out of the new PPP pipeline.

While the role of opening up additional funding lines for Ireland is primarily a matter for my colleague, the Minister for Finance and the National Treasury Management Agency, we have been working closely together in this regard. I am keen to build on the relationship we have with the EIB in order to ensure its continued support for the PPP programme. I have had several meetings with senior EIB personnel, including the president, Mr. Werner Hoyer, who has confirmed the bank's commitment to working with us to ensure we can maximise the resources available to Ireland and Irish investment. I welcome this valuable commitment and support which clearly demonstrates the confidence the EIB has in Ireland and the robustness of our projects.

Total EIB funding for Ireland in 2012 was €600 million. This was made up by projects in several sectors, including €100 million for Exchequer schools, €200 million for Exchequer water schemes, €50 million for the schools bundle 3 project, €150 million for Bank of Ireland's SME fund and €100 million for Bord Gáis's onshore wind programme. In addition to this EIB financing, my officials are working closely with officials from the Department of Finance and the National Development Finance Agency who are seeking to attract private sector infrastructure financing. Sources of such funding include domestic banks, international banks and institutional investors. The Minister for Finance is also liaising with our partners at European level to make progress in the area of non-bank financing.

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