Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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I assume the Deputy is referring to the Brexit Adjustment Reserve. The European Union’s Brexit Adjustment Reserve (BAR) is a unique regulation established specifically to provide for Brexit. It provides support to counter the adverse economic, social, territorial and, environmental consequences of the withdrawal of the UK from the European Union.

Ireland’s allocation from the reserve will be €1.015 billion. The application for BAR funding must set out the negative impacts of the withdrawal of the UK from the European Union, and how the measures carried out under the Fund alleviate the adverse consequences. The regulation is also clear that in order to be eligible for BAR funding, the expenditure must fall within the BAR eligibility period for expenditure which runs from the 1st of January 2020 to the 31st of December 2023.

The Government has therefore, over a series of budgets, allocated BAR funding across a number of impacted sectors in order to mitigate those adverse effects of Brexit and to adapt to regulatory changes.?Following the BAR Regulation coming into force in October 2021, specific funding of €389 million was provided in Budgets 2022 and 2023 across a number of sectors.

The Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science was allocated c.€37 million of that specific BAR funding provided across 2022 and 2023, with approximately €23 million of that allocated in 2023.

The exact composition of Ireland's Brexit Adjustment Reserve (BAR) claim will not be finalised until the claim is submitted in September 2024. My Department continues to review and assess all spending identified as Brexit-related for inclusion in the final BAR claim. As this work is ongoing, it is not possible at this time to confirm the individual projects or final amounts of expenditure for any Department that will be included in the BAR claim.