Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I welcome Mr. Murphy and his team back to the committee. Mr. Murphy presented a very large array of material. I have a long list of questions I could ask, but in deference to the committee, I will be as focused as possible.

The overall budget expenditure being presented is €196 billion in 2022, which is 2.5% of GNI of member states. When looking at a company, most auditors consider the income of the company and the objectives the company has set for expenditure. Does Mr. Murphy have an opinion regarding the capacity of the European Union to do what it has set itself to do? It is constantly announcing new programmes and objectives, but I would like to get an auditor's point of view. Mr. Murphy obviously has no political view on whether there is merit in it. Strictly from an auditing perspective, is the budget adequate to the objectives that the company – the EU – has set itself?

My second question is relation to the borrowings. Perhaps I am so scarred by these things that the figure looks alarming. EU borrowing stands at €344 billion, which is 175% of the overall budget for 2022. Having 175% of the budget in borrowing is very significant. Here in Ireland, we panicked when we got to 100%. If we consider the current debt not in GNI terms, but in GDP terms of member states, the lowest national debt is 18.5% in Estonia. The highest, which would be regarded as outrageously high, is 172% in Greece, which went through the crisis. How can the EU reach a borrowing level of 175% of its budget expenditure in the year? I acknowledge that Mr. Murphy has pointed that out but surely it is an alarming issue.

I want to ask about the BAR and the expenditure for Ireland. Ireland is the largest recipient country - we are getting €1 billion - because we are the most seriously affected by Brexit. Will Mr. Murphy give us some granular details in terms of the expenditure? Obviously, I am interested in the expenditure in Rosslare Europort. How much has been allocated and how much has been drawn down, if anything yet, or is everything going to happen at the end? I take it that every expenditure currently being incurred is being tick-tacked with the auditors to ensure it qualifies. Is there a prospect at the end that some expenditure could be put on our own books because it is not covered or how is that process operated?

What is a ballpark figure of how much has been indicated by the Irish Government in expenditure in Rosslare Europort in particular, and for Ireland in general?

My third question relates to the migration and border management issue. Obviously, it is becoming a greater issue. How is the money expended? Are we talking about an expansion of Frontex, is it support for border forces in member states or is it a combination of those? How is that expenditure audited? Perhaps I am wrong to believe that it is being used to support and strengthen border forces in member states, but how is it audited by the European Court of Auditors?

I will contribute again if I can get a second round later, but my final question for now is on lobbying lawmakers, which was an interesting subset of the court’s inquiries. I see that in the upcoming COP on climate change there is to be a clampdown on lobbyists because, at the previous Conference of the Parties, there were more lobbyists than participants, particularly from the fossil fuel sector. It is now a noticeable feature of Brussels. Deputy Harkin will know much better than I the impact of lobbyists and their capacity to implement change. There are some scandals involving Members of the European Parliament that are being investigated. I introduced the regulation of lobbyists legislation in this State. Is there an analogous law in the EU?