Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I could not agree more with the Deputy. We just spoke about the potential disruption of Brexit in the context of a deal or no deal, particularly in areas such as fishing and agriculture. We have a €5 billion Brexit adjustment reserve waiting to be allocated and Ireland is certainly going to be first in line for that funding because of the levels of disruption with which we may have to deal. We have, however, potential delays now in sanctioning and progressing EU expenditure because of a separate, but linked, issue in respect of accessing EU funds.

This is something on which the EU collectively has to find a way forward, without undermining its credibility and value system and recognising that the majority of EU member states have a genuine concern regarding the rule of law and its application, and that there be a link between that and the availability of financial resources. We are lucky to have the German Presidency in place now. It is putting in a significant amount of work to resolve this issue and find a way forward, and we support the German Presidency in that endeavour.

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