Danny Healy-Rae
Question:368. Deputy Danny Healy-Rae asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance the amount Ireland is contributing to the €90 billion EU loan to Ukraine; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14347/26]
View answerTuesday, 24 February 2026
Questions (368, 369)
Danny Healy-Rae
Question:369. Deputy Danny Healy-Rae asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance the duration of the EU loan to Ukraine; when it will be paid back; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14348/26]
View answerWritten answers
I propose to take Questions Nos. 368 and 369 together.
The Council of the EU, in co-decision with the European Parliament, will today (24 February) seek agreement on a loan of €90 billion for Ukraine to be disbursed in the years 2026 and 2027. The loan is proposed via the enhanced cooperation mechanism involving 24 European Union Member States.
The European Council Conclusions of 18 December, and the EU regulations which are planned to be decided on today (24 February), state that the loan would be repaid by Ukraine only once reparations are received from Russia. Until then, the Russian Central Bank assets are to remain immobilised, and the EU reserves its right to make use of them to repay the loan.
The Ukraine Support Loan, if agreed, will be funded by the European Commission borrowing on capital markets backed by EU budget headroom. The call on the EU budget would only emerge if the loan is not repaid by Ukraine, as outlined above. This would feed through to Member States in their EU budget contributions at that point.
The European Commission’s borrowing strategy used for the Ukraine Support Loan will determine when repayments of the loan arise, and when the final repayment will take place. Typically, it issues bills and bonds with maturities varying from 1-30 years, meaning repayments are disbursed across a number of years. More information on the Commission’s activity on capital markets can be found on its website here: commission.europa.eu/strategy-and-policy/eu-budget/eu-borrower-investor-relations/how-eu-issuance-works_en
If repayment of this lending via the EU budget were to arise, the impact on Ireland’s EU budget contribution would depend on Ireland’s share of the budget at that point in time relative to other Member States that are supporting the borrowing, the amount of the loan falling due for repayment at that point in time, and the applicable interest costs. As mentioned above, the Commission ensures a range of maturities for borrowing operations, so the loan would not require repayment in full at one point in time.
As such, there is a contingent liability for the EU and Ireland from this borrowing. However, the factors of Ireland’s share, whether and when amounts will fall due to the EU budget, and the interest costs, are unknown at this point, meaning no accurate estimate of likely costs for Ireland can be provided. Ireland’s share of the overall EU budget varies between years based on a number of factors. For reference, Ireland’s share of the 2025 EU budget was 2.2%.
In addition, the debt service costs, which are proposed to be paid by the EU Budget, will depend on variables such as interest rates and market conditions, and also on Ireland’s proportion of the EU Budget which varies across years. These will be covered in the EU budget in 2027 and subsequent years.
Officials are monitoring these contingent liabilities, alongside the other financial obligations and contingent liabilities arising from the EU budget, to ensure accurate forecasting and predictability of Ireland’s contributions. Safeguards exist to mitigate against large, unexpected calls from Ireland for EU Budget contributions. Under the Own Resources Decision, the maximum that can be called from all Member States to contribute to the EU Budget in a given year is 1.4% of EU GNI. This places a restriction on how much Ireland can be required to pay into the EU Budget in a given year, which protects our domestic budget from a significant shock.
Question No. 369 answered with Question No. 368.