Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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I apologise. We will work to ensure there is maximum Irish access to cohesion funding at regional level. It is not just a national policy. We are keenly aware in the negotiations of the need to maximise our access to those funds. We will watch the statistics relating to the relative prosperity of the regions carefully. More developed regions need to continue to be able to access cohesion funding, particularly to tackle issues like unemployment and disadvantage. Obviously, that is part of the discussions that are taking place at two levels, the first of which relates to the budget itself. The second tier of the discussions that are under way relates to the distribution of the budget that will be agreed.