Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 18 May 2021
295. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Finance the number of EU schemes and projects Ireland contributes to; the list of EU schemes and projects Ireland contributes to; the amount contributed to EU schemes and projects in each of the years 2015 to 2020 by Ireland; and the projected contribution to EU schemes and projects in each year between 2021 and 2026 by Ireland. [25700/21]
View answerThe Department of Finance is responsible for making Ireland’s contributions to the EU Budget, as part of the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF). The MFF is a seven year framework regulating the EU's annual budget. It consists of approximately 45 individual programmes, not including administrative expenditure for the European Parliament, Commission, Council and other EU agencies. The MFF is broken down into seven Headings of expenditure - Single Market, Innovation and Digital; Cohesion, Resilience and Values; Natural Resources and Environment; Migration and Border Management; Security and Defence; Neighbourhood and the World; and European Administration. Any bilateral contributions to other EU programmes, outside of the EU Budget/MFF made by a Government Department are the responsibility of that Department.
Contributions to the EU budget are general and are not assigned to specific programmes. Ireland’s contributions to the EU Budget for the years 2015 – 2020 are as follows:
|
Year |
Contribution €m |
|
2015 |
1,952 |
|
2016 |
2,023 |
|
2017 |
2,016 |
|
2018 |
2,519 |
|
2019 |
2,432 |
|
2020 |
2,569 |
Ireland’s contributions to the 2021-2027 MFF are expected to rise over the coming period, from approximately €3.25 billion in 2021, to approximately €3.95 billion in 2027, an average of €3.6 billion per annum.
On 21 July 2020, Heads of State and Government reached agreement on the €1.074 trillion Post-2020 MFF and the supplementary €750 billion recovery plan “Next Generation EU” (NGEU), totalling €1.82 trillion. At this time of crisis, the Covid recovery funds are needed now, and will be received by Member States up to 2026, but will be paid back over 30+ years. Repayments to the NGEU, will be made alongside the MFF, but are not expected to begin for a number of years yet. The contribution Ireland will make has yet to be determined and will depend on our share of the overall EU budget over the course of those repayments. They will also depend on what new Own Resources, if any, are agreed at EU level. It is not possible to give an accurate overall figure at this time.
