Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I do not have that exact figure in front of me, but it has been a whole package of things. This has been done already. We may never see a no-deal Brexit and yet we have done all these things just in case it happens.

In terms of the fire protections, as the Deputy described them, he will be aware of the €200 million rescue and restructure fund for business. I have explained how that would work. There would be other instruments for farmers and the agrifood sector, and other instruments for the fishing sector should our fishermen lose access to the UK waters in the event of a no-deal Brexit.

There is a Brexit stakeholders forum tomorrow. We will be able to share more information with leaders, stakeholders and parties. We do not have an exact final figure because that is still being worked on with the Commission. As the Deputy knows, when it comes to agriculture a certain amount will come from the Commission, which we can then match either one-to-one or by multiples. We are still in discussion on the extent by which we are allowed to top it up.

As I do not want to create the wrong impression, it is very important to bear in mind that it is not as if the Government has hundreds of millions or billions of euro sitting in a bank account somewhere to use. This will be borrowed money if we have to do it. We will move from surplus into deficit, but if that is what we have to do to protect jobs, incomes and livelihoods, and to save businesses, farms and the agrifood sector, we will do it. In the event of a deal being agreed, I would not like to create the impression that this money is available for something else. It is not. It would be borrowed money.

The reason we set up a rainy day fund and the reason we ran a budget surplus this year, against the advice of some people who said we should borrow more and spend more, was so we would be in a position to borrow if we have to, and we can.

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