Use of funds from the sale of the State's Stake in Aer Lingus

QUESTION

To ask the Minister for Finance the amount of the €335 million received from the sale of the stake in Aer Lingus and placed into a connectivity fund which has been invested by the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

REPLY

I am informed by the National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA) that the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (“ISIF”) has completed four investments under the Connectivity Fund, namely:

• A $28 million co-investment in Aqua Comms DAC, a company that has developed fibre optic cables linking the USA, Ireland (Killala, Mayo) and the UK.
• A €35 million investment as a strategic domestic partner for DAA plc long term bond issuance, supporting construction of a new runway at Dublin Airport.
• Provision of a long term €14 million debt facility to finance a runway resurfacing project at Shannon Airport - a crucial regional and national infrastructure asset. This debt facility was signed in early 2017 and the runway resurfacing project has been completed on time and within budget.
• An €18 million Junior Debt facility to support the relocation of the Port of Cork from Tivoli to Ringaskiddy. The ISIF debt facility was provided alongside senior debt from AIB and the European Investment Bank and was structured to ensure certainty of funding for the Port Company. It also has tailored flexibility to meet the requirements of this nationally and regionally significant project.

These investments bring the total deployed under the connectivity fund to over €90 million. The NTMA have also advised me that ISIF is working on a range of further pipeline connectivity-based investments.