Trevor Sargent
Ceist:503 Mr. Sargent asked the Minister for Finance if he will report on the annual Irish contributions to EURATOM; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1543/99]
Written Answers. - EURATOM Funding.
EURATOM is an organ of the European Communities and is financed by the general budget of the European Communities. There are five basic principles underlying the budgetery procedure of which the rule of universality is one. It states that budgetary revenue may not be assigned to particular items of expenditure. There are some minor exceptions to this rule, for example, revenue earmarked for a specific purpose such as income from foundations.
Accordingly when Ireland makes it contribution to the European budget, it does not make a specific contribution of a particular amount to EURATOM or any other Community body or policy. It makes contribution to the budget based on the own resources system which specifies the criteria used in calculating a country's contribution to the EU budget.