Barry Cowen (Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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332. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the potential investment projects her Department put forward to the Department of Finance task force report for the European Fund for Strategic Investments. [4868/17]

Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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The European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) is an EU initiative launched jointly by the European Investment Bank (EIB) Group and the European Commission to help overcome the current investment gap in the European Union by mobilising private financing for strategic investments.

The new EIB office in Dublin, opened in December 2016, will provide a one-stop-shop for project promoters seeking EIB finance and in particular, it will be the gateway for funding from the EFSI. To coincide with the opening of the EIB office, the Minister for Finance, Michael Noonan T.D. established a new high-level EIB-Ireland Financing Group, to help tailor the EIB's involvement in the Irish market to match requirements of both the public and private sector.

This Group, with membership from relevant Government Departments as well as EIB senior management, will have a key role in raising awareness in Ireland of new EIB products and encouraging a strong pipeline of projects from Ireland to benefit from EIB financing, including the EFSI. The Group will be supported by three working groups at official level:

1. Financing Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (including agribusiness),

2. Financing Connectivity (including ports, airports, road, rail, broadband and energy),

3. Financing Social and Economic Infrastructure (schools, healthcare, universities).

My Department is maintaining close liaison with both the Department of Finance and Andrew McDowell, Vice-President of EIB with responsibility for Ireland, to ensure that Ireland can maximise the opportunity presented by EFSI. Future opportunities will be considered in due course.