Written answers

Thursday, 6 April 2017

Department of Public Expenditure and Reform

Aer Lingus Sale

Photo of Dara CallearyDara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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216. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the proceeds obtained from the sale of the State's share in Aer Lingus; the exact use these proceeds were put towards; the amount which has been spent or invested on each project; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17357/17]

Photo of Paschal DonohoePaschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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The acquisition of Aer Lingus by IAG, in 2015, resulted in a receipt of some €335m by the Exchequer for the Government's shareholding in the company.  These funds were used to establish a Connectivity Fund, to support commercial projects that enhance connectivity both within and for the State, including physical, virtual and energy connectivity.  The Connectivity Fund was established as a sub-Fund of the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund and is being managed by that Fund.

I understand that the latest position in relation to how these funds are being used is that two investments from this fund have already been completed, with a combined value of €57m.

- ISIF announced a $25 million (c. €22 million) equity investment in Aqua Comms DAC, the operator of Ireland's first dedicated subsea fibre-optic network. The cable lands in Killala County Mayo and interconnects New York, Dublin and London.  Aqua Comms is a provider of data connectivity and bandwidth infrastructure services for content providers, cloud-based networks, data centres, IT companies and the global media. Its network will be used by major multinational technology and telecoms companies to provide fast, secure data connections between Ireland, the US and UK and will enable the continued growth of the Irish digital economy.

- ISIF also rolled an existing (National Pensions Reserve Fund) commitment in daa plc's public bond, which was issued in 2008 (repayable in 2018), into a €35 million commitment in a new 2028 public bond issuance by daa, the operator of Dublin and Cork Airports. This continues ISIF's role as a long-term, strategic, domestic investor in daa. Given the nature of the underlying business of daa, and the fact that the new bond issuance provides the underpinning long-term financing for the company, the ISIF commitment to the 2028 bond is considered suited to inclusion under the Connectivity Fund.

I understand that several other Connectivity Fund investment opportunities are currently being assessed under the ISIF's "double bottom line" mandate, which is to seek both commercial return and economic impact. These connectivity opportunities include potential investments in energy, air, sea and further data connectivity projects and businesses seeking to expand and enhance Ireland's international links.

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