Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

That is why last month my colleague, the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, announced that the EU Commission has agreed a tenfold increase in the rescue and restructuring scheme budget from €20 million to €200 million. The Minister, Deputy Creed, is having negotiations with Brussels on a regular basis and Commissioner Hogan has said that the EU is ready to respond if there is a no-deal situation. The Government is prepared. Our Ministers are working very hard. We can only do what is required when the time comes. The Ministers, Deputies Creed and Humphreys, and every Minister in government is monitoring. My Department is meeting the LEADER companies, the Western Development Commission, rural groups, the local action groups and the councils, to make sure to have them ready. In respect of funding, we can only deal with that situation when the time arises. We are ready now. We can only do what we can do. In my own Department, we talked about the LEADER programme as Deputy Calleary did and there will be many other questions about other programmes. I have a lot of schemes out there. My biggest problem as all Deputies know is to the get the local authorities and the communities to spend the money I have actually allocated.

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