Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank Mr. Palmer for providing clarity on this. This is worth pointing out because we are dealing with Report and Final Stages of the Fiscal Responsibility Bill, which establishes the fiscal council. I believe this is a good thing in terms of independent advice; I do not agree with the advice it has given us, but it is good to have it. It represents a significant strengthening of the role of that body. If that is the body that will be giving independent advice, it will have a substantial role. Ultimately, when it comes to macroeconomic forecasts, the buck will stop with a number of individuals who are selected by the Minister for Finance, which is a crucial point. These forecasts have been wrong before; I know we overshot the last time.

The most recent growth forecast was downgraded twice before we were informed that the State had overachieved. Every prediction for economic growth has been wrong. In saying this, I am not criticising the Department as I understand that forecasting is difficult and all the independent agencies were also wrong. It is a major development when a group of individuals is given the power to have the budget of a state based on its say-so in terms of its macro-economic forecasts.