Irish government to receive €990m in EU grants to support recovery

 

Ireland will receive a €990 million EU grant to assist in the nation's recovery following the Covid pandemic.

During a Friday meeting with the Taoiseach, President of the European Commission Ursula von Der Leyen endorsed Ireland's plans for how the fund will be allocated.

Taoiseach Michel Martin said the funding will be used for speeding digital reforms and transformation, supporting social and economic recovery and creating jobs.

Martin noted that the grant will help to "drive the climate and digital transformations, on which our future wellbeing and prosperity rely".

Officials said 42 percent of the funding will be used for numerous projects, including electrifying the Cork commuter rail, the rehabilitation of peatland, and the retrofitting of residential and public buildings.

Also, 32 percent of the money will fund the digitization of public services and administration, funding connectivity and devices for schools, along with the development of a shared government data centre.

Von Der Leyen called the grant the largest recovery package that Europe has seen since the Marshall plan following Word War II, noting that "it is necessary because we want to spur the recovery for Europe, and indeed Ireland, for now and for the future."

"We want to be stronger coming out of this pandemic than we went into it and we want to emphasize and invest in our common objectives," she said.