Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

That is what I am saying. It is an EU programme. That is the bottom line. I will ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform to communicate with the Deputy on the matter. On the first principles, this is a decision taken by the 27 member states of the European Union, not by the United Kingdom. There are likely to be provisions in the withdrawal agreement as well as to how that works. The UK has an obligation to honour its commitment. I will get an exact answer on the matter and communicate it to the Deputy. Governance, in terms of spending the money, is important but we are looking forward to spending that money. The Chairman, Deputy Ó Murchú and Deputies representing Meath will be working to make sure that really good projects are rolled out under that programme, which can bring us together and ameliorate the effects of Northern Ireland, tragically, being forced to leave the European Union by the decision taken in large parts of England which have no connection with the North.