Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)
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56. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the options he is exploring for availing of the opportunities provided under the European Fund for Strategic Investments to boost capital expenditure on schools and-or institutes of technology; if his Department is exploring any additional PPP projects under the EFSI; and if not, the reason this is the case. [10484/17]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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As recently as last October I signed a €200 million long term loan agreement with the EIB which will help deliver my Department's School Building Programme. It will support the construction, enlargement and modernisation of 71 schools over the next four years as well as delivering improved energy saving measures to these schools.

The first meeting of the EIB-Ireland Financing Group, involving relevant government Ministers and Agency heads with EIB senior management took place in December 2016. Among the terms of reference agreed at the meeting was to raise awareness in Ireland of new EIB products and platforms and to encourage a strong pipeline of projects from Ireland for consideration under the Investment Plan for Europe (EFSI).

In that context an EIB-Ireland Financial Group meeting was held on 14 February 2017 in the Department of Finance at which the EIB outlined its potential role on lending to the Irish market.  Sub-groups are to meet during March and April to explore future opportunities.  Education is included with Housing and Health in the EIB-Ireland Sub-Group Financing Social Infrastructure and the issue of further PPP projects in the education sector will in due course form part of the discussion within this sub-group.

Separately, the Deputy will be aware that the Capital Plan Building on Recovery: Infrastructure and Capital Investment 2016-2021 provides for a €200 million programme of PPPs in the Higher Education Sector. The Higher Education Authority, following consultations with my Department, has recently issued a circular letter to all institutions under its remit which, inter alia, will assist in identifying which projects will be prioritised for inclusion in this programme.