Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael)
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279. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he is seeking a strengthening of the Brexit contingency fund as announced in budget 2020; if the €110 million agriculture fund will be increased; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27610/20]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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My Department's Brexit preparedness work has resulted in various supports being introduced over successive budgets to help the agri-food and fisheries sectors mitigate the impact of Brexit.

These include supports in the form of direct aid, as well as the provision of low-cost loans such as the €300 million Future Growth Loan Scheme. In addition, in 2019, my Department introduced the €100 million Beef Exceptional Aid Measure in recognition of a very difficult year for the beef sector and a prolonged period of price uncertainty caused by various factors, including Brexit.

The impact of Brexit on the agricultural sector will be kept under ongoing review. In this regard the recently published Brexit Readiness Action Plan confirms that further measures to support affected sectors will be considered over the coming months. I also welcome the Multi-Annual Financial Framework agreement reached in July by Heads of State and Government, which includes a €5 billion Brexit Adjustment Reserve for those Member States and sectors most affected by Brexit. I will work to ensure that the agri-food sector gets an adequate allocation from that funding. 

Decisions on funding for my Department for 2021 will be made in the context of the Annual Budgetary process.