Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I will not repeat the questions that have already been asked so mine may seem a bit peripheral, apart from the first question. The Minister of State mentioned the mid-term review of the multi-annual financial framework, MFF, that will be discussed as part of the EU budget. It would be useful for this committee to get a sense of where the Government will come at this. According to estimates by the Department of Finance, our contribution to the EU budget by 2027 could be €4.5 billion, which is an awful lot of money in any person's language. We know there are some within the European institutions who want to substantially increase the European budget in the next MFF. That raises profound questions. Once money is given to European institutions, regardless of how well or otherwise it is spent, control is lost of what is essentially Irish taxpayers' money and, in the context of the Minister of State's final remarks, we could be dealing with a situation where more and more decisions are made outside the unanimity principle. There always has to be transparency and accountability in how public moneys are expended on behalf of citizens. Sometimes the point is lost when we are talking about qualified majority voting and what that might mean. It is important to recognise what that means in practice. When the EU has to resort to this voting system, it means that democratically elected governments are forced to implement something they do not agree with and for which they may not have democratic support. That is okay in some areas but there are other areas where that can create huge democratic tensions between citizens and the EU and that is what we should try to avoid. I have always been of the view that the Union and its budget should be targeted and focused on the issues we can only deal with if we work together. There are some big areas such as climate action issues, and migration as has been mentioned, that can only be resolved if we work together. Increasingly, there are other areas, which are best managed at a local level, never mind at a national level, in which the EU tries to develop competencies. I ask the Minister of State a general comment on that.

I acknowledge the EU Commissioner with responsibility for agriculture had said in advance of the review that he would be seeking an increased Common Agricultural Policy, CAP, budget to recognise the challenges faced by agriculture, particularly due to the climate action requirements of that sector. Has that come up and has the Government taken a position?

The Minister of State referenced that Ireland is supporting the request of the Spanish Government to include Catalan, Basque and Galician as official languages of the EU. Will he explain what the process is and what the timeframe is for that? My guess is that this could take a very long time unless there is political impetus. Will Ireland be among the states that will try to exert that political impetus to allow those language speakers to have their rights respected within the EU?

Finally, the Spanish Government has cited the progression of the EU-Mercosur trade agreement as a priority under its Presidency. What is the current Irish Government position on this trade agreement?