Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 17 April 2018
215. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance the estimated cost if a member state's contribution to the EU budget was to increase by 0.1%, 0.2% and 0.3%, respectively, of gross national income, GNI, for the period of the next multi-annual financial framework, by each case in each year; the estimated impact on fiscal space of these increases; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14999/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs the Deputy may be aware, the European Commission is yet to publish its proposal on the post-2020 Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), which is due to be released in early May. Once the proposal has been published, officials from across all Departments will study it in-detail to assess its implications for Ireland. The MFF will then be subject to intense negotiations over the subsequent 12-24 months; once a final agreement is reached we will have a clearer understanding of the impacts on Ireland.
However, in the absence of a firm proposal we have made some initial projections of how increases in the GNI ceiling could impact on Ireland's contributions. This work indicates that for every 0.1% of GNI, Ireland's contributions increase by c. €250m.
It should be noted that like all forecasts related to the EU budget, these forecasts are dependent on a number of factors which change on an on-going basis and as such should be treated with caution until more details are known on the next MFF.
