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

There is a definition of exceptional circumstances, which is in the treaty which was ratified by the people and which is in the definitions in Part 1 of the Bill. It is central to the matter in that if exceptional circumstances exist, then the Minister is allowed to deviate from the requirement to move towards a structural balance of 0.5% of GDP. Can the Minister give us the sense of what would be deemed to be exceptional circumstances in the case of Ireland? Also, based on the current projections, over what period of time will we be moving towards a structural deficit of 0.5% of GDP?