Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I will provide as much information as I can now. My departmental officials are available to provide whatever additional information and briefing we possibly can on the Brexit adjustment reserve. As the Deputy knows, this comes from an EU fund with a total value of almost €5.5 billion in today's prices. The 2018 value was set at about €5 billion and it then got reset in today's prices. For Ireland the current value is €1.165 billion. About 80% of the total reserve comes in the form of prefinancing.

There is a certain eligibility period for the expenditure, which is backdated to 1 January 2020 and must be spent no later than 31 December 2023. The bulk of our allocation will come in the form of prefinancing with about 40% of it to be paid in 2021, 30% in 2022 and 30% in 2023. There is a degree of flexibility as to how and when we spend that but that is how we will receive the cash from the European Union. The fund is subject to stringent EU funding requirements. We believe it will get formal approval in October and we are currently awaiting that.

We will set out our plan for the Brexit adjustment reserve in broad terms on budget today. It will come as no surprise to the Deputy that fishing communities and the fishery sector will be a significant beneficiary because they have been at the coalface of Brexit and have borne the brunt of it in many respects. While some of the impacts of Brexit have not fully hit the agrifood sector yet because of postponement of the implementation of different aspects of the new regime, there is a Brexit impact and there will likely be a further Brexit impact, which will be taken into account. In addition, certain sectors across the enterprise economy will also benefit.

We need to demonstrate a direct link between how we allocate the funding and the negative impact of Brexit. That work is ongoing in my Department. I do not anticipate we will be allocating in granular detail the full €1.165 billion on budget day, but I anticipate that we will give a very clear statement as to where the funding will be going in overall terms. I would be happy to provide any additional information we can.