Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I believe so. The Deputy is right to point to the risks. They are real and the global economic outlook is very uncertain. We have seen a weakening of demand, including for some of our export base. We are not immune to those changes but in terms of our preparedness, the way in which the economy and public finances have been managed gives us the capacity to respond. In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, we put in place up to approximately €30 billion of measures. We had a surplus last year of €8 billion and are projecting a €10 billion surplus for this year. Even after making provision, as the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, has, for €4 billion of non-core measures to look after the people who come here from Ukraine and elsewhere and providing an extra €2.5 billion for capital, we are still projecting a surplus for next year.

Of course, that surplus is not certain because it has not yet happened. Last year's one did. We are half-way through this year and we believe we are on target to achieve our projected outturn. We have put a lot of that money away. This does help us to prepare for shocks that could come our way, but Deputy Conway-Walsh is right to point to our vulnerability as a small open economy.