Criticism of Ireland's €915m EU grant 'latent Euroscepticism'

Fine Gael's Neale Richmond said that criticism of the allocation was 'latent Euroscepticism' and that Ireland's share was appropriate. Picture: Sam Boal/RollingNews.ie

The Government has been forced to defend Ireland's "very small" allocation of €915m from a €750bn EU recovery fund after criticism from opposition politicians.

The Government yesterday launched its National Economic Recovery Plan which includes more than €3.5bn in spending supports and just under €1bn from the EU's recovery fund which it is hoped will help kick start a jobs-led economy.

Public Expenditure Minister Michael McGrath told a Dáil debate on the plan that Ireland is expected to receive €915m in grants under the EU's scheme during this year and next. A further set of grants is to be allocated in 2023, taking into account economic developments between now and then, he said.

'Very small'

However, Sinn Féin TD Imelda Munster said that Ireland's €915m allocation from the €750bn fund was "very small when compared to the allocations other states are receiving".

"I understand Poland, for example, is expected to receive €58bn, with almost €25bn of that in direct grants. We need to review the State's use of GDP as a method of measuring wealth."

Fine Gael's Neale Richmond, however, said that criticism of the allocation was "latent Euroscepticism" and that Ireland's share was appropriate.

It is quite clear that the €900m or so allocated to Ireland out of €750bn is absolutely proportionate. 

"Trying to compare a country the size of Ireland, with its population and economy, with Poland is completely misleading where the general consumption of this debate is concerned."

People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy said that the plan would amount to austerity for those whose PUP would be cut from September.

"However, hundreds of thousands of people will experience, on one hand, a significant drop in their income of up to 40% for those on the €350 rate of PUP. They lose money in their pockets and, on the other hand, have to pay out more money in an austerity tax introduced in the aftermath of the last economic crisis. It will be difficult to convince those people that what the Government is doing is not austerity. 

They will experience it, correctly and accurately, as an attack on their living standards.

Fianna Fáil's Marc MacSharry criticised CMO Dr Tony Holohan's well-publicised tweet about gatherings on South William Street in Dublin last weekend. He said that government policy had to align and said that the economic recovery "had not begun" but that moves had been made to hamper any outdoor activities.

"Where do we expect people to go?

"As we speak, over in St Stephen's Green we are fencing off the bandstands because the last thing we want is people to congregate there. We cannot have it both ways. This is replicated all over the country, for example, at the Spanish Arch. 

Where I live in Strandhill, there are so many bollards on the seafront that had the Nazis done it in France on D-Day, God knows what the outcome of the war would have been.

Fine Gael TD Jennifer Carroll MacNeill said that the business resumption supports announced by the Government on Tuesday would help viable businesses survive the pandemic. She said that some existing supports did not extend to some businesses.

"A number of very niche groups, for example, catering companies, got stuck between the CRSS and the EWSS in terms of having a rateable premises, but not being eligible for CRSS because they did not have a footfall that was cut off. I think of two such companies in my area in particular which were really struggling."

Rail revamp

Green Party TD Brian Leddin praised the announcement's inclusion of €185m for a metropolitan rail system in Cork.

"The announcement of the Cork suburban rail project, with new stations and extra capacity, is the first step in bringing a DART-style suburban rail system, which will ultimately be more extensive than Dublin's, to our second city. It will enable the building of 30,000 homes, connected to a high-quality suburban rail service, which means that many families will not be dependent on a car for a good quality of life."

Social Democrats TD Roisín Shortall said the plan has "a great shortage of detail and timescales".