Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
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540.To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the estimated cost of increasing InterTrade funding by 5%, 10%, 20%, 25% and 50%, in tabular form. [31174/24]

Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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InterTradeIreland (ITI) is one of six North-South implementation bodies established under the Good Friday Agreement. It operates under the oversight of the NSMC and of its sponsor Departments, the Department of Enterprise, Trade & Employment and the Northern Ireland Department for the Economy. ITI works to promote trade and business on an all-island and cross-border basis. Through its range of programmes, the Body continues to support and develop cross-border trade and businesses as they face the challenges that have emerged in recent years, including Brexit and, more recently, Covid-19.

ITI is jointly funded by my Department and the Department for the Economy on a 2:1 ratio. For 2024 my Department has allocated a total of €11.625m to support ITI’s work. I have set out below the cost of increasing the Body’s budget at the different levels you have requested:

5% €12.2062m

10% €12.7875m

20% €13.9500m

25% €14.5312m

50% €17.4375m

Please note that the baseline figure includes pension payments.

As ITI is under the joint oversight of both my Department and the Department for the Economy, its budgets require approval from both Departments. This is normally set out in advance in InterTradeIreland’s three-year Corporate Plans. In its Corporate Plan for 2023-25, ITI anticipates an overall budget of approximately €17.44m in 2024 and €18.6m in 2025