There have been no formal discussions at the Council of Agriculture Ministers in relation to Brexit, or in relation to any support package that might be considered over the course of the negotiations. This is consistent with the overall EU position of not commencing negotiations in advance of the UK's formal notification of its intention to exit the EU under Article 50 TEU. However, I did take the opportunity to refer to the impact of Brexit at the most recent Council of Ministers meeting in Brussels last month in the course of a discussion on the CAP, and in particular in the context of ensuring that the CAP helps farmers to more effectively deal with the consequences of market volatility. As previously indicated, I have also raised the matter informally directly with Commissioner Hogan.
The Deputy is, I am sure, aware of the range of measures that I have introduced to support the agri-food sector in dealing with the impact of the fall in value of sterling against the Euro. These support measures include additional funding for Bord Bia and Bord Iascaigh Mhara, increased expenditure for the Seafood Development Programme and the Rural Development Programme, agri-taxation measures and the €150 million low-cost loan scheme, introduced earlier this year, and which uses Ireland's most recent EU aid of €11 million to leverage significant funding to help deal with the immediate impact of Brexit.
In addition, I and my Department officials have been actively continuing our engagement with the Commission and other Member States, to ensure that Ireland's concerns and requirements in relation to Brexit are fully understood. I have had a series of bilateral meetings with, for example, Germany, Netherlands, Denmark, Estonia and Poland in recent weeks, and intend to undertake further engagement with France, Austria and others over the coming period.
