Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I hear that.

On the Corporate Enforcement Authority, its budget is increasing by a quarter. This is not a small increase. A 25% increase is fairly significant. It may have asked for a little bit more but there is not any organisation which receives 100% of what it asks for. I do not believe there is any danger of the Government being seen as skimping on money for the Corporate Enforcement Authority. It has had a big jump in its budget. It is a new authority but it is essentially taking over the work of a previous strong body. This follows on from increases in previous years, which is also important to mention. That funding will continue to increase. Corporate enforcement is a big deal in Ireland as the economy continues to grow at the pace it is growing at.

On InterTradeIreland, I have been told that the budget increased in the past year and this increased level of funding is being maintained into 2023. As the Deputy knows, I have a great deal of interest in North-South bodies and I hope that as some of the political issues settle down in the months ahead in the context of the relationship North and South, that we can continue to work more with InterTradeIreland. It has been a very difficult time for all-island bodies over the past number of years, with no North-South bodies meeting and, obviously, no functioning institutions in Northern Ireland. This has been a difficult environment but InterTradeIreland has done a particularly good job through that period, particularly in the financial supports it has provided through the Brexit period through the Brexit supports for businesses, predominantly, in the Border counties.

There is an agreed funding ratio of 2:1 with Northern Ireland.