Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

425. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the totality of the funds requested and drawn down by his Department from EU sources in respect of covid-19 in each of the years 2020 to 2023 and to date in 2024, in tabular form (details supplied). [30219/24]

Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

429. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the totality of the funds requested and drawn down by his Department from EU sources in respect of covid-19 in each of the years 2020 to 2023 and to date in 2024, in tabular form (details supplied). [30224/24]

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 425 and 429 together.

REACT EU (Recovery Assistance for Cohesion and the Territories of Europe) is a €47.5bn initiative under the European Recovery Instrument, Next Generation EU, to respond to the impact of COVID-19 and prepare a green, digital and resilient recovery of the economy. 80% of the total funding to be allocated across individual Member States was provided in 2021 with details of the remaining 20% announced at the end 2021 for programming in 2022. The funding tops up the 2014-2020 cohesion programmes, and is subject to those regulations.

Building on the crisis repair measures delivered through the Coronavirus Response Investment Initiative (CRII) and CRII+, REACT EU was initially conceived as a bridge to the long-term recovery plan to be addressed in the 2021-27 cohesion programmes. Allocations took account of the economic and social impact of the crisis on EU countries, e.g. GDP drop and rise of unemployment, and relative wealth of countries.

Regulation (EU) 2020/2221 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 December 2020 amended the Common Provisions Regulation to provide for REACT EU and introduces a thematic objective, “Fostering crisis repair in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and its social consequences and preparing a green, digital and resilient recovery of the economy”, which constitutes the single investment priority for the programming and implementation of the REACT-EU resources. The 2021 allocation had to be programmed by Member States before the end of 2021. Likewise, the 2022 allocation must be programmed before the end of 2022.

Ireland’s total REACT EU allocation amounts to €141.61m made up of two separate tranches – the first of €88.34m for 2021 and the second of €53.27m for 2022.

Each Member State decided how to programme the additional REACT EU resources through the European Social Fund, the European Regional Development Fund, the Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived or the Youth Employment Initiative. The resources could be programmed as a separate priority within an existing programme or as a new programme.

The first tranche

Given the impact of COVID-19 on the labour market and on education and training the first tranche of Ireland’s REACT EU funding was allocated to the European Social Fund (ESF) and following approval by the Programme for Employability, Inclusion and Learning (PEIL) Monitoring Committee, by written procedure, in October 2021 and was used to support the reopening of schools given the impact of schools closures on children and families, and in particular those from a disadvantaged background or with special needs, the safe reopening of schools was a key priority in the response to COVID-19. The Department of Education is the Beneficiary for this ESF Activity.

The second tranche

The Russian war of aggression against Ukraine brought a series of unexpected challenges for the European Union just when the Union and its Member States had been engaged in the recovery of our economies and societies after the COVID-19 pandemic.

In response to the impact of the influx of Ukrainian refugees, the EU introduced a range of flexibilities to existing regulations, including a regulation on Cohesion Action for Refugees in Europe (CARE), allowing Member States to re-programme existing cohesion policy funds including REACT EU support to address these pressures.

In the context of the above, the MA proposed in November 2022, through a new dedicated priority "FastCare Ukraine", to allocate the 2022 tranche (€53.4m) of REACT EU funds to the ESF to establish a ‘Simplified Cost Option’ to provide for a per capita payment of €100 for up to 26 weeks for each Ukrainian refugee. This proposal was (a) approved the Programme Monitoring Committee and (b) adopted by the Commission through an OP amendment. The Department of Social Protection is the Beneficiary for this ESF Activity.

In respect of the two new priorities referred to above the total eligible expenditure (€172m combined) included in payment applications submitted by the ESF Certifying Authority (located within DFHERIS) to the European Commission (availing of 100% eu-confinancing) in June 2024 were as follows:

• for FastCare Ukraine - €56m; and
• Covid-19 Schools Capitation Grants - €116m)