Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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28. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the way he believes the European Investment Bank can be best used to complement public expenditure to maximise economic growth; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9449/14]

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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One of the key ways in which the Exchequer Public Capital Programme is supplemented, is by the use of Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) which are primarily funded up-front from non-Exchequer sources.   The sourcing of funding for PPPs is led by the Department of Finance working with the National Development Finance Agency (NDFA), and all Irish PPPs are reviewed for suitability for EIB funding.

The EIB has long been an investor in Ireland's PPP programme and we continue to engage with the EIB which remains supportive to Ireland's recovering capital market.  EIB have committed to support our €1.5bn PPP programme which was announced in the July 2012 Stimulus Package.  Positive engagement is on-going and EIB has indicated its commitment to fund the Grangegorman Campus project and for the roads PPPs in particular.  This continues the strong backing shown by the EIB who have invested in a number of Irish PPPs which are currently in operation, especially in the roads sector.  Most recently, the EIB provided €75m of funding for the N11/Newlands Cross road project in April 2013 and €50m for the Schools Bundle 3 project in November 2012.

In recent times, EIB has also provided funding for our traditional Exchequer-funded capital programme.  While this does not provide additionality to the Exchequer investment plans, it has been an important source of finance for the Exchequer, providing funds on more favourable terms than were otherwise available to the State at the time.  

In 2012, a loan of €100m for the Exchequer Schools Programme was signed.  In 2013 a second tranche of €100m was provided for schools, a loan of €200m was provided for the Water Services Investment Programme and funding for the LUAS Cross City project was also secured. The EIB is also a valued investor in the commercial semi-state sector and has provided substantial investment especially to our energy sector.  In this way, the EIB is important in supporting the enhancement of our national economic infrastructure in particular. We look forward to continued positive engagement with the EIB into the future.