EU Budget Contribution

Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 20 July 2016

Wednesday, 20 July 2016

Questions (106)

Catherine Martin

Question:

106. Deputy Catherine Martin asked the Minister for Finance when Ireland's net contribution is made to the European Union; if Ireland's recently announced gross domestic product for 2015 figure will impact this either directly or indirectly; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23171/16]

Written answers

Minister for Finance

Member State contributions to the EU Budget are based upon a formula which includes Traditional Own Resources (customs duties), a VAT-based payment and a residual balancing component paid in accordance with each Member State's share of EU Gross National Income (GNI). Payments to the EU budget are made on a twice-monthly basis over the course of the year and Ireland became a net contributor to the EU budget in 2014.

On 12 July 2016, the CSO released updated National Income and Expenditure (NIE) Accounts for 2015 which included a very significant upward revision in Ireland's GNI for 2015. As mentioned above, GNI is an important input into the calculation of Ireland's EU Budget contributions, representing c. 75% of our total contributions.

We currently estimate the impact of the CSO revision on our EU Budget contribution for 2017 as c. €380 m. However, other mitigating factors mean the overall increase in the EU budget contribution is now estimated to be in the order of €280 m when compared to the forecast underlying the Summer Economic Statement (SES).

It must be emphasised that the final impact depends on a number of variables including the size of the overall EU budget for 2017 (which is not due to be agreed until November 2016), GNI movements in other EU Member States and other EU budget operational developments.

The estimate is also premised on the likely ratification of the Own Resources Decision (ORD) by all Member States this year (it is now ratified by 27 out of 28 Member States). The ORD is required at EU level to translate political agreement on the methods for financing the EU Budget for the current Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) 2014-20 into legal form.