Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I spelled out some figures on projects which have been successfully drawn down. The Deputy must realise that all borrowing must comply with Government borrowing procedures and in turn the State must comply with the EU fiscal rules. There has been a great deal of interaction with the EFSI, as I explained in my earlier reply. In 2015 the Department arranged, as part of an event, for a number of bilateral introduction meetings between the EIB, the Innovation and Networks Executive Agency, INEA, and transport companies and agencies. A similar information session was arranged on 30 May 2017. The Deputy asked why the EFSI take-up is so low for transport project promoters. That is a fair question. I can only answer that the introductions have been made, one-to-one meetings have been held and the take-up is somewhat low. Anecdotal feedback to the question the Deputy has asked suggests that EFSI take-up is low due to a number of factors, including Exchequer co-funding limitations, and the fact that there are more attractive loans available from the EIB and other financial institutions in other places.

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