Doyle Shipping Group and Rosslare Europort to receive funding under European Union's €11 million Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) Fund

Five Irish projects have been successful in securing funding from the CEF - a funding mechanism which aims to promote growth, jobs and competitiveness through investment in infrastructure across Europe.

• Doyle Shipping Group will receive €2.5 million for studies informing the consideration of the redevelopment and expansion of the existing port facilities in Cork, with a view to supporting the deployment of offshore renewable energy (ORE).
• Irish Rail will receive €2.5 million for studies in respect of the potential to develop facilities at Rosslare Europort to support ORE operators in the Irish and Celtic Seas.
• Irish Rail will also receive €1.3 million for studies which will examine the doubling of track capacity between Dublin’s Connolly and Malahide train stations, where DART and intercity traffic currently share the same tracks.
• Irish Rail will receive €2.6 million towards feasibility studies guiding a range of technical and organisational measures aimed at improving train services between Dublin and Cork.
• Monaghan County Council will receive €2.3 million for studies to support the upgrade of the N2 National Primary Road in County Monaghan between Clontibret and the Northern Ireland Border which would enhance key North/South and regional connectivity and improve road safety.
• There was also Irish involvement in three multi-country air navigation projects which will also receive CEF funding, totalling some €130 million from the European Commission:
• The European Sky Multilink ATN project, which includes the Irish company Airtel, will receive €12.8. This project will enhance the operation of multilink communications infrastructure for air traffic navigation.
• The CLEAN ATM project, whose participants include the Irish Aviation Authority, Dublin Airport Authority and Ryanair, will receive funding of €79.3m to improve the overall efficiency and environmental sustainability of Air Traffic Management in Europe.
• The EXODUS project, in which the Irish Aviation Authority participates, will receive €38.1m to develop a harmonised Air Traffic Management platform. The project involves Air Navigation Service Providers across six European countries: Austria, Croatia, Denmark, Ireland, Portugal and Sweden.

Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan said “I would like to congratulate all the successful applicants on the funding received and express my appreciation to the EU for its support. This funding will support the development of safer and more sustainable transport infrastructure as well as the development of the offshore renewable energy industry in Ireland.”

Minister of State Jack Chambers also welcomed the news: “I want to thank the EU for this support. This CEF funding will assist in developing strategic road, rail, and maritime infrastructure for the future. It demonstrates the significant financial support from the EU for the development of our transport systems.”

Speaking about the Irish CEF project selection, European Commissioner for Transport Adina Valean stated: “Ports have an essential role to play in the future sustainable EU transport system. This is why the CEF program already supports and will continue to support them. I am pleased that with this selection under the Connecting Europe Facility, we are able to assist the ports of Cork and Rosslare in their infrastructure developments and to contribute to their green transition efforts by developing offshore wind energy projects.”

For further information on CEF, please visit the Department’s information page.