Ireland will get more from EU than it pays in

IRELAND is expected to continue to receive more from the EU than it pays in at least for the next two years, because of the drop in the country’s wealth as a result of the economic crisis.

The Government is targeting agriculture funds and money for research and innovation from the next EU budget, expected to amount to just under €1,000 billion to be spread over seven years from 2013 to 2020.

Over the past few years, Ireland has been one of 15 member states that are net beneficiaries, ahead of Latvia and Estonia in the amount of money received per person. This was expected to change last year as the country was, and remains, one of the wealthiest in the EU. But the drop in Gross National Income means the country will not contribute as much as initially understood.