Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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Ireland will receive approximately €1.15 billion in funding from the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) in respect of measures included in our National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP). The RRF is a performance based instrument with payment contingent on the achievement of milestones and targets.

The NRRP is pre-funded through the estimates process and the National Development Plan. RRF allocated funding is then recouped from the EU after the agreed milestones and targets within the Plan have been achieved and verified.

The RRF allocation will be paid to Ireland in five instalments. Following the successful submission of our first payment request, Ireland received €324m in July 2024 from the RRF, with our second payment request of some €116m scheduled for submission before the end of the year. Subsequent payment requests are scheduled as follows:

• IE 3^rd Payment Request - €240million
• IE 4^th Payment Request - €250million
• IE 5^th Payment Request - €225million

The Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform has 2 direct projects included in the NRRP:

• Project 2.1 Development of a Shared Government Data Centre

Following a tender competition, Award of Contract for the construction of the Government Data Centre in Backweston, County Kildare was awarded in late 2022 to the preferred bidder. The project began in Q1 2023 with construction of the facility commencing in Q2 2023. It is expected that it this project will require a 24-month construction timeframe with completion expected in Q2 2025. The full rack and compute fit out of the data centre is scheduled to commence in mid-2025 with full implementation end-2025.

• Project 2.5 Using 5G Technologies to drive a Greener more Innovative Ireland

Work on this project is well underway with delivery of a number of local compute nodes already complete. A number of procurement competitions have been completed, contracts have been established with multiple Service Providers and the fibre network built-out to deliver connectivity. In addition, an International Connectivity contract has been awarded.

In addition, my Department has overall responsibility for the Monitoring and Implementation of the NRRP. An NRRP Implementing Body was established within my Department to drive implementation and oversee implementation of the Plan. This Body acts as the lead authority for Ireland and as the single point of contact with the European Commission, and reports, through appropriate Departmental structures, to the Minister for Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform.

The implementation arrangements are outlined in the NRRP and in the Council Implementing Decision.

The Implementing Body reports to the Minister for Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform who in turn reports to the Cabinet Committee on the Economy and Investment as necessary, and to Government every six months on the implementation of milestones and targets relating to both investments and reforms; and Ireland’s drawdown of funds.

A Delivery Committee chaired at a senior level (Assistant Secretary) by DPENDR and deputy co-chaired by the Departments of Taoiseach and Finance meets at least quarterly. Its role is to maintain oversight of implementation of the plan, and address issues as they arise.

The Implementing Body acts as a single point of contact for the Commission on a day-to-day basis. Its responsibilities include:

• providing all necessary reports and requests for disbursements;
• ensuring coordination with other relevant authorities;
• reporting on progress on milestones and targets;
• overseeing implementation of control measures;
• providing technical and systems support, including IT; and
• communicating at a national level to promote and publicise the Union’s funding.

While the Implementing Body and Delivery Committee monitor the implementation of the Plan and are responsible for exchanges with the EU institutions, responsibility for implementing the individual measures lies with the relevant Departments and bodies.