Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

172. To ask the Minister for Finance the total amount of investment sought and received by the Government from the European Investment Bank for each year from 2007 to 2013; the details of the projects for which this money was sought; and if he will outline the Government's contribution towards each of these projects. [3784/14]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The Deputy will find below a table with a breakdown of all Irish projects assisted by the European Investment Bank (EIB) in respect of the period 2007 2013, including: the project titles, the amounts for loans approved; the approval date; the sector involved; and the signature dates for the loans, where applicable. The Deputy should note that the total amount of EIB support in a particular year may include loans approved by the Board in that year as well as signatures in respect of loans approved in previous years.

With regard to the Government's contribution to each project, as the Deputy may be aware, the European Investment Bank provides loans to both public and private entities and in all cases will normally provide up to 50% of the total cost of a project, with the balance being made up from other sources. Loans to private entities are provided on the basis of applications made by the entities themselves directly to the Bank and therefore do not involve a Government contribution. In the case of public projects, the EIB provides assistance in the form of direct loans to the Exchequer and loans to Public Private Partnerships (PPPs). For EIB loans to the Exchequer, Ireland, via the National Treasury Management Agency, is the Borrower, with the balance of the cost of the project being made up by Exchequer and/or other sources of financing. In these cases, the Government contribution is readily identifiable and this amount is indicated in the column on the far right of the table appended.

PPPs are financed primarily by private sector funding sources, debt and equity funding.  However there would also be some Exchequer costs for land purchase, consultancy fees etc.  The State also pays the VAT costs up-front on completion of construction rather than over the life of the project. Costs are specific to individual projects. While the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform publishes details of Financial Commitments under PPPs, details of up-front Exchequer costs are a matter for the Sanctioning Authorities.

With regard to the Irish Water Investment Programme in 2012, the Local Authority Framework Loan II in 2007 and the Housing Finance Agency Environment Global Loan in 2007, information on those projects is currently being compiled by the Department of Environment, Community and Local Government and will be sent to the Deputy when available.