Post-European Council Meetings: Statements
Dail Éireann — 2020-06-24
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Helen McEntee (FG), Meath East

In state aid. I will get the details and have them sent to the Deputy.
On Deputy Cian O'Callaghan’s questions, contrary to reports, the USA has not pulled out of the OECD process. It has raised concerns about the timeframe and the implementation. It has sought an extension of the overall discussion. At European level, France, Italy and Spain have been asked to pause their progress in this area, or the implementation of their own legislation. From our point of view, this is a global issue that should be dealt with on the global stage. That is why we support the implementation of any new measures through the process we are engaged in. Whatever comes out of it, we will, of course, accept it fully.
On the question on vaccinations, I am not sure. I do not believe it was raised at the European Council meeting but I will try to revert to the Deputy in more detail on the matter.
With regard to the overall funding, I will simplify the matter. Many of the measures we have put in place so far have been through our own funds. The Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, Deputy Humphreys, has tried to make the funds as accessible as possible. There is, of course, a mixture of loans and grants. We will, of course, try to access as much of the European funding as possible. The initial pot, €540 billion, was agreed only a number of weeks ago so the process will take time. The funding we are talking about here today, the €1.1 trillion, in addition to the €750 million, is yet to be agreed. What is important for citizens is that we agree to it as quickly as possible and that the money gets to the people who need it. Certainly, from an implementation perspective at Government level, we are trying to make it as easy as possible. The Revenue Commissioners have played a major part in trying to ensure paperwork and everything else can be dealt with after people get their funding.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2020-06-24/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:48:22+00:00
Sitting date: 2020-06-24