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Brexit Supports

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 1 March 2022

Tuesday, 1 March 2022

Questions (92)

Thomas Pringle

Question:

92. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the breakdown of funding schemes established under the recently established Brexit adjustment reserve; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11029/22]

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Oral answers (8 contributions)

I have a question on the Brexit adjustment reserve, BAR. I am looking for a breakdown of where the funding is going. I have the response, but I have not seen the answer. The answer did not fully respond to the question. One thing I would like to impress on the Minister is the need for our offshore islands to be included in that and for them be funded significantly for piers and harbours. That is vitally important.

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. The Brexit adjustment reserve aims to provide financial support to the most affected member states, regions and sectors to deal with the adverse consequences of Brexit. Ireland will be the largest beneficiary of the reserve, with an allocation of over €1 billion, the equivalent to just over 20% of the entire reserve. Approximately 80% of the funding will be paid to member states as pre-financing in three tranches of the period 2021 to 2023. I am pleased that on 6 December last, the European Commission approved payment of Ireland’s first tranche of €361.5 million, making us the first member state to receive such approval. To qualify for funding, expenditure must be incurred between 1 January 2020 and 31 December 2023. The direct link to the adverse consequences of the withdrawal of the UK from the EU must be demonstrated.

In Ireland, the allocation of resources from the reserve is being aligned with the annual Estimates process, which has been the vehicle for allocating Brexit resources since the UK referendum on EU membership in 2016. Budget 2022 announced that approximately €500 million of the overall BAR allocation will be made available as a first tranche of funding, with the remainder available next year. Indicative areas for BAR funding that were identified include enterprise supports, measures to support fisheries and coastal communities, targeted supports for the agrifood sector, reskilling and retraining and checks and controls at ports and airports.

To allow partners to proceed with programmes to be funded under the reserve, some €54 million was allocated as an initial funding in the Revised Estimates for public services 2022, with further allocations to be provided later this year, when there is more certainty on the requirements and timelines for spending of funds.

Initial allocations were made. The Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science was allocated €14.5 million for Skillnet digital skills programme and Erasmus after Brexit initiatives. There is also an allocation to the OPW, to support its work to develop the infrastructure for checks and control at Rosslare Europort. I will proceed in a moment with more information.

I would be interested in seeing the breakdown of those in particular. The Minister mentioned that the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine will be one of the sectors that will be funded. That is vitally important. It should be funded additionally, rather than the current spend being put in under this and governing it that way. In particular, in that context, the Irish Islands Marine Resource Organisation, IIMRO, has made a submission for island infrastructure that is vitally important. As the Deputy will know, their suffering is greater again, because they are on offshore islands. As well as this, they rely on buying boats from England, which cannot be done now. What is important is that the infrastructure that they rely on will be improved, so that their ability to make a living is better and easier for them. I ask the Minister to look at that, in particular, in relation to the funding.

The key requirement here is to demonstrate the direct link between the project, or what we are seeking to fund, and the adverse consequences of Brexit. This is because this funding is governed by EU regulations and is subject to EU audit, as well as rules that go with that. That is the key test, as such. The link with Brexit cannot be general in nature. It has to be demonstrable and quite specific. It is really up to every Department to come up with individual proposals that they believe meet the criteria of the Brexit adjustment reserve. As the Deputy would expect, I have much engagement, in particular with the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy McConalogue, and his Department, because coastal and fishing communities in particular are directly impacted by Brexit. The Deputy will be aware of the work of the task force which has made a series of recommendations. We are now working our way through those. There is a certain reference period. The money must be spent before the end of next year. We are looking back to see what has already been spent that might be reckonable. Insofar as is possible, I want the money to be spent on new things that will address the negative effects of Brexit through changes that we are going to fund.

Will the Minister impress on the Department the need to examine the funding allocations for the offshore islands as well? They are at an even greater disadvantage, with Brexit impacting on them directly. It is possible the larger fishing ports and so on will take up all the funding that is available under the Brexit adjustment reserve fund, but it has to go wider than that. The islands have made a detailed submission to the various county councils to seek that funding and that should be taken on board and seriously examined.

I support Deputy Pringle's call for our fishing communities to be supported through the Brexit adjustment reserve fund. Farming families in Ireland were one of the poster boys for the potentially devastating impacts of Brexit and, therefore, in the outworking of this fund, which is welcome, they need to be supported. Up to now, the only element within the agrifood sector that has been supported financially is the meat processors, that is, the factories, whereas the people who need support are family farmers on the ground. They have been impacted, as we have seen particularly in the pig sector, as well as in the poultry sector and other areas. Will the Minister work with his colleague, the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, to ensure a substantial portion of this funding goes to those who need it, including family farmers?

I will discuss the issue relating to the offshore islands with the Minister, Deputy McConalogue. I expect to bring a memorandum to Cabinet in the coming weeks on the Brexit adjustment reserve to give an update to the Government as to where things stand. We have again engaged with line Departments on specific proposals they believe meet the criteria and qualify under the Brexit adjustment reserve.

I reassure Deputy Carthy I have ongoing engagement with the Minister in respect of farm families and fishery and coastal communities, which, I am sure we will all acknowledge, have been most impacted by Brexit. They will be significant beneficiaries of the funding that has been provided.

We are almost out of time. Deputy Carthy will not have the full period of allocated time for the final question.

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