Brian Ó Domhnaill (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I have a copy of a reply to a parliamentary question that gave the figures up to the end of November. There was an underspend of €800 million. In one particular scheme where approximately 75% of the funding was coming from EU sources, not one cent of the moneys was drawn down. It was a scheme that came under Pillar 2 for rural broadband. Some schemes that could have been used were closed, including TAMS. Obviously 50% of the €800 million was Exchequer money, but approximately €400 million of it was EU-sourced money. I believe it is misleading for the Minister to make the comparison he has.

The available funding under the last Pillar 2 was €4.825 billion. The available funding under the next pillar will be €3.77 billion. I suggest that if there is an underspend in the next Pillar 2 allocation, then there will be approximately half the money that was available under the last Pillar 2. Let us consider the cuts. There is a 40% cut to the disadvantaged areas scheme and the Leader programme has been cut by 55%.