Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I do not have the exact date to hand, but the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Michael McGrath, can give that detail. However, I absolutely assure the Deputy and this House that there was no lateness. In fact, no member state was late in submitting an application for the recovery fund. Deputy Mattie McGrath is also implying that only a certain amount of money was applied for. That is not the case. The money is allocated on a proportionate basis according to each country’s national wealth. That is the reality of it. Deputy McGrath has mentioned a figure of €900 million. It is a bit more than that but that fails to consider the Brexit adjustment reserve of more than €1 billion. It was all part of the package at the European Council last meeting last July when this budget was agreed.

The funding that Ireland will receive is effectively double the figure to which Deputy Mattie McGrath refers. What is forgotten in this debate is the fact that money spent in France, Germany or Spain also benefits Ireland. Along with Luxembourg, Ireland benefits the most from the European Single Market. The pharmaceutical, construction and manufacturing companies in places like Clonmel that rely on trade with the European Union are looking forward to Ireland spending its money but also to all other European countries spending their money because they will benefit from that. The Single Market benefits us disproportionately and directly creates jobs in Tipperary South, Meath East and Waterford and all other constituencies. We are doing very well out of this and are glad that it is happening. We did not pull the ladder up. We did not join the so-called frugal four in arguing that we should not give this money because we felt it was right that other European countries should be able to come up to the economic level of the rest of us but also, selfishly, because we benefit when they do well because we are such a strong exporting economy. We benefit so much disproportionately from the Single Market and when the European economy does well, we do well too.

On the spending of that money, I do not think our taxpayers should be providing funding for countries that do not uphold the rule of law, basic human rights and human decency. I very much look forward to the conditionality regulation on the rule of law coming into operation once the European Court of Justice decision goes through, as I hope it will, and to that regulation being enforced. The declaration we signed last week calls for that to happen and calls for a strong action to be taken. We cannot be spending money in places where the rule of law is not upheld. I reiterate that when we spend money in the European Single Market, when we stimulate that economy, Ireland benefits more than almost any other member of the EU.

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