Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 24 March 2022
193. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the period during which the impact of Brexit must be felt for use of the Brexit adjustment reserve, BAR, to mitigate impacts; the amount allocated from the fund to date; the purpose of each allocation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15749/22]
View answerThe Brexit Adjustment Reserve has a total value of €5 billion in constant (2018) prices, or €5.47 billion in current prices. All Member States are to receive an allocation.
The purpose of the Reserve is to provide financial support to the most affected Member States, regions and sectors to deal with the adverse consequence of Brexit. Expenditure under the Reserve must demonstrate a direct link to the negative impact of the withdrawal of the UK from the EU. The eligibility period for expenditure runs from 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2023.
Ireland’s allocation is €1.065 billion in constant (2018) prices, equivalent to €1.165 billion in current prices, representing just over 20% of the total Reserve, or the largest allocation for any Member State.
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 around €500 million of the overall BAR allocation will be made available as a first tranche of funding, with the remainder available in 2023. Indicative areas for BAR funding that were identified include: enterprise supports; measures to support fisheries and coastal communities; targeted supports for the agri-food sector; reskilling and retraining; and checks and controls at ports and airports.
To allow Departments to proceed with programmes to be funded under the BAR, some €54 million was allocated as initial funding in the Revised Estimates for Public Services 2022. Initial allocations were made to: the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation & Science (€14.5 million) for the Skillnet Digital Skills Programme and Erasmus after Brexit initiatives; the Office of Public Works (€1.8 million) to support their work developing the infrastructure for checks and controls at Rosslare Europort; the Department of Agriculture, Food & the Marine (€33 million) as initial funding for fisheries and horticulture measures; and the Department of Enterprise, Trade & Employment (€5 million) as initial funding for a variety of schemes, including customs readiness, to support business impacted by Brexit.
Further allocations will be made later in the year when, based on detailed proposals from Departments, there is more certainty on specific requirements and timelines for spending.
