The European Commission has signaled that it will give the go-ahead for a €240 million payment to Ireland as part of the EU’s Recovery and Resilience Facility.
The Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) was set up as the centrepiece of NextGenerationEU, an EU plan to grow back Europe’s economies after the covid crisis.
It is the third tranche of EU funding requested by the Irish government.
The European Commission says Ireland has met 14 milestone requirements to unlock the next round of funding, but it will need to be formally approved first by an EU committee in the coming weeks.
“The payment request covers important steps in the delivery of three reforms and eight investments that will drive positive change for citizens and businesses in Ireland in the areas of energy efficiency, sustainable transport, carbon taxation, e-health, public administration, higher education, healthcare and aggressive tax planning”, the European Commission says.
Amongst the projects identified for funding is a healthcare programme aimed at nearly half a million people across Ireland.
The healthcare project aimed at more than 430,000 people with certain long-term health conditions, such as cardiovascular disease “helped patients and their doctors monitor these conditions and identify how best to deal with them”, the EU says.
There will also be new investment for Ireland’s five Technological Universities “to participate in training and upskilling activities in areas such as digital services and regional development”.
And a promise of government tax reform in line with EU policies.
In total, the Irish recovery and resilience plan includes investment and reform measures financed by more than €1 billion in EU grants.
“The [European] Commission has reviewed whether Ireland met the conditions needed for this payment and shared its preliminary assessment with the Economic and Financial Committee (EFC). The EFC has four weeks to deliver its opinion.”
Once the EFC gives their opinion, the European Commission says it will then be able to officially approve the payment to Ireland.