Ms Bríd Cannon:

It is extremely difficult to say at present. We are in negotiations. The Commission's original proposal, as to different sets of new figures which were put forward by President van Rompuy in November in respect of heading 2, namely, the CAP, is on the table. Unfortunately, there are a number of variables so I cannot provide a direct answer to the Deputy's question. While President van Rompuy put forward various amounts in respect of heading 2 - the overall CAP - what will determine the Irish allocation will be the way in which those funds will be allocated among the member states, both in terms of the direct payments, which come under Pillar 1, and rural development, which comes under Pillar 2. The Commission has not yet put forward a proposal on rural development allocations. We are aware of various proposals with regard to the overall rural development allocation for the entire EU. However, there are no actual figures on the table from the Commission.