Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Obviously that will come at the expense of other measures and I am sure that the EU Commission would have argued in the past that the budget in its entirety was promoting growth, regardless of specific measures. I will leave that aside but I am of the opinion that there is a lot of spin involved in this. It is unfortunate that we will not see a substantial increase in the budget because I am sure countries like Ireland would have benefited from that.

The reference date for cohesion has been altered and set to a later date, which should suit Ireland better. I also welcome the fact that a reassessment is built in whereby if a country is doing better or worse than expected over the period, funding levels can be revisited. Overall, in Ms Campbell's view, did Ireland and, in particular, the Irish regions get a good deal? I understand that the Border, midland and western region, known as BMW, is still seeking recognition that may allow it to avail of greater funding opportunities. Can Ms Campbell enlighten the committee as to how negotiations on this are progressing at this point in time?