December 17, 2015
Deputy John Deasy asked the Minister for Health the position regarding the provision of a 24/7 cath lab at University Hospital Waterford.

REPLY (Minister Leo Varadkar):
Services at the Regional Cardiac Catheterisation Laboratory (cath lab) at University Hospital Waterford are led by three Consultant Interventional Cardiologists and their teams. This service is developing in line with best practice and the national clinical programme for acute coronary care. 

The cath lab in UHW performs approximately 40 invasive cardiovascular procedures each week and offers a comprehensive range of invasive and non-invasive diagnostic services. This includes the insertion of stents, pacemakers and implantable defibrillators. 

Primary PCI is undertaken with STEMI heart attacks which are about 20% of all heart attacks. It is done in a cath lab by an experienced cardiologist. The cath lab in UHW is open five days a week from 8.30 a.m. to 5.30 p.m.

​Patients who require Primary PCI outside these hours are transferred to Cork University Hospital or to a Dublin hospital. However it is important to note that 24 hour, 7 day a week consultant medical cover for cardiac patients is provided in UHW. 

I am aware that UHW is committed to the progressive extension of the current PPCI service. However, the reality is that any extension to the service will require significant investment, both capital and revenue. 24 hour emergency PPCI cover requires, as a minimum, two cath labs on site. It also requires a minimum of 6 interventional cardiologists.

As for any complex acute hospital service, a key criterion for deciding whether a 24 hour PPCI service should be provided, is whether there is sufficient volume of appropriate patient activity to ensure the safe provision of the service. Without sufficient volume of service, staff will not be in a position to maintain their skills and in those circumstances, it will not be possible to provide a safe service. 

Funding for new developments is limited and it is of critical importance that the available funds are targeted appropriately. UHW is a constituent hospital of the South South West Hospital Group.

The priority to be afforded to the expansion of the PPCI service in Waterford must first be considered from a hospital group perspective and in relation to the planning for the cardiology needs of the Group population.  The development must then be considered in a national context, and in the light of competing demands for scarce resources.  

This proposal remains to be considered and prioritised by the HSE.  (Further reply to issue directly from HSE.)

December 17, 2015
Deputy John Deasy asked the Minister for Health the position regarding the provision of a primary care centre in Dungarvan in County Waterford.

REPLY (Minister of State Kathleen Lynch):
The Dungarvan Primary Care Centre is one of 14 to be delivered as a single PPP project.  Following a detailed tender evaluation process the National Development Finance Agency announced the Prime-Balfour Beatty consortium as the preferred tenderer in May 2015.  Construction is scheduled to begin in early 2016 and it is expected that the primary care centres will be delivered by early 2017. In the meantime work is continuing on the financial and legal provisions of the project contract. 

December 17, 2015
Deputy John Deasy asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the discussions his Department has had with the management of the Port of Waterford Company regarding accessing funding through European Union regional development funding, or any State-sponsored capital infrastructural funding.

REPLY (Minister Pascahl Donohoe):
The Port of Waterford  is recognised as a Port of National Significance (Tier 2) in National Ports Policy. While there is no exchequer funding provided to ports, ports are encouraged to explore all other avenues of funding available to them.

As the Deputy is aware, at a European level, the Port fulfilled the criteria for recognition as a 'comprehensive Port'  in the comprehensive network of the Trans-European Transport Networks (TEN-T) -  a planned set of road, rail, air and water transport networks in the European Union.

Waterford Port  is eligible to apply for funding through the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), a key EU funding instrument to promote growth, jobs and competitiveness through targeted infrastructure investment at European level.

Officials from my Department have met recently with Waterford Port Company to advise and encourage them to explore projects that might qualify for CEF funding.

In December, the Department facilitated a meeting between the port and officials from the Commission, the European Investment Bank and INEA (the Executive agency for CEF). In addition, the port attended a recent information session on Motorways of the Sea (MOS), a horizontal priority of the Connecting Europe Facility, hosted jointly by the Department and the European Coordinator for Motorways of the Sea.

Once again, an individual meeting was facilitated between the port and the European Co-ordinator. My Department is aware that the Port of Waterford is actively exploring a joint venture with a number of partners in preparation for an application for Motorways of the Sea funding.​

Waterford Port is within the South East Region for EU Structural Funding purposes and the managing authority for the Regional Operational Programme is the Southern Regional Assembly.

The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) co-financed Regional Operational Programmes (2014-2020) approved by the Irish Government and agreed with the European Commission in December 2014 were formally signed in Brussels in Februaury 2015.

The regional programmes focus on five thematic areas: research and innovation, enterprise development, broadband infrastructure, energy efficiency and integrated urban development.

​Port infrastructure was not identified as a thematic priority for co-funding under the 2014-2020 programmes. However, the Southern Regional Assembly have advised that they are available to provide additional information and advice to the port in relation to potential future funding through the regional programmes.

December 17, 2015
Deputy John Deasy asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the discussions his Department has had with the management at Waterford Regional Airport regarding accessing State or European Union funding to extend the runway at the airport.

REPLY (Minister Paschal Donohue):
Funding support for capital expenditure under my Department's Regional Airports Programme is confined to safety and security related projects.

The projects being funded at Waterford airport under the Programme include the runway end safety area (RESA) as required by the IAA and safety standards. This project involved the purchase of land to facilitate the work. 

Development projects, however, such as any capacity expansions, are a commercial matter for the airports themselves and should only be contemplated if they can be financed commercially. In the case of the proposed runway extension at Waterford, the airport authorities are fully aware of this position and I understand that they are pursuing local interests in relation to that project.

My Department invited all airports and other transport bodies to an Information Seminar earlier this month on the financing options under the European Union's European Fund for Strategic Investment (EFSI), the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) and the EIB.

The seminar was organised by the European Commission, the Innovation and Networks Executive Agency  and the European Investment Bank. A representative from Waterford Airport attended that Seminar and also met separately with the agencies.

December 17, 2015
Deputy John Deasy asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation how many technical feasibility grants have been awarded to companies based in County Waterford.

REPLY (Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton):
Enterprise Ireland’s mission is to partner with entrepreneurs, Irish businesses, and the research and investment communities to develop Ireland’s international trade, innovation, leadership, and competitiveness. The ultimate objective is increased employment and prosperity in Ireland.

Enterprise Ireland offers financial support to help companies investigate the viability of a new export oriented business or proposition or to develop a new product, process, technology or service offering.

This is offered through a feasibility grant. In many cases, if the feasibility grant is successful, many companies go on to carry out a larger business development project (such as an Innovative HSPU package) or an R&D project with the assistance of Enterprise Ireland.  Typical elements of a feasibility study include market research, business plan development, technical research and prototyping.

Table 1 below identifies the number of technical feasibility payment transactions to companies in County Waterford by Enterprise Ireland between 2010 and 2015.

Technical Feasibility studies are a subset of the feasibility grant offer. Table 2 below identifies the number of feasibility study payment transactions to companies in County Waterford by Enterprise Ireland over the period, 2010 to 2015.

Feasibility study grant offers include technical feasibilities, R&D stimulation grants, CORD grants, HPSU feasibility, Food Works Feasibility grants, Competitive feasibility Fund and Going Global grants. 

December 17, 2015
Deputy John Deasy asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation how many innovation vouchers have been awarded to companies based in County Waterford.

REPLY (Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton):
The Enterprise Ireland Innovation Voucher Initiative was introduced in 2007 in order to drive an on-going innovation culture shift within small enterprise by promoting and encouraging knowledge transfer between Ireland’s public knowledge providers and the small business community and creating greater synergies between the two.

Under the initiative, vouchers worth €5,000 are allocated to small business whose proposals, to work with public knowledge providers on specific innovation issues, meet certain criteria. The Innovation Voucher Programme has been running successfully since its inception and it continues to meet an important need in the small business sector. 

Enterprise Ireland recognises that an important source of knowledge, expertise and competitive advantage which is available to Irish companies is to be found in the Research Departments of our Institutes of Technology and Universities.

​The Innovation Voucher scheme gives small companies access to this vast source of innovative acumen and in so doing acts as an important facet of knowledge transfer from these Higher Education Institutions (HEI’s) to industry. These Vouchers can be used by the companies to purchase advice and knowledge that is new to the company.

Since the programme’s launch, in 2007, 464 Vouchers, with a total combined value of €2.3 million have been awarded to companies based in county Waterford, as detailed in the table below: