I propose to take Questions Nos. 321 to 323, inclusive, together.
As the Deputy will be aware, on 21st July 2020, Heads of State and Government reached agreement on the Post-2020 Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) and Next Generation EU, totalling €1.82 trillion. Difficult discussions took place over four days but the Government welcomes this agreement. It is a fair and balanced outcome
and demonstrates that Europe can work collectively to deal with this once-in-a-generation crisis. Council conclusions set out the leaders’ agreement for the European Commission to borrow €750 billion, supporting Member States with €390 billion in grants and €360 billion in loans. Agreement was also reached on a new MFF from 2021 – 2027, totalling €1.074 trillion, which will support rural and regional development, and the transformation of our economies in line with the climate transition, research and development, and digital agendas.
Ireland has been a net contributor to the EU Budget in 2014, and since then, this position has grown further. Ireland’s contributions to the Post-2020 MFF are expected to rise over the coming period from approximately €3 billion in 2021, to over €4 billion in 2027, an average of €3.5 billion per annum. We estimate that our receipts from the Post-2020 MFF will be in the region of approximately €2 billion each year. Data on actual EU Budget receipts are published annually in my Department’s Budgetary Statistics each Autumn for the previous year – 2021 receipt data will be published in Autumn 2022. As such, at this point my Department does not have information regarding Ireland’s actual receipts for the Post-2020 MFF.