Dr. Kevin Smyth:

I wish to make a final point that sum refers to just Ireland. Let us consider that the amount of money that is collected across the 28 member states - as it is now - is enormous and amounts to hundreds of millions of euro every year. Between 2006 and 2012 the EU took €6 billion off all of the schemes, which was returned to the EU budget.

Clearly, all the European Union is saying is that it is enforcing the rules as it sees it and that it has identified weaknesses. The key for us is to minimise the amount of money that has to be transferred.