Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Independent) | Oireachtas source

We have established the figure for 2012 is 0.9%. The most striking thing I took from the recent report was the graph showing the quarterly revision downwards of 2012 GDP growth by everybody. This is a clear inherent bias towards optimism. In the budget for 2013 the Department of Finance projects 1.5% for this year, 2.5% for next year and 2.9% for 2015, which is exactly the type of thing we see every time, that it was rough last year but there will be growth of basis points in the coming years and it will all be gravy.

The eurozone is back in recession and the forecasts are that it will stay in negative growth for a while. The UK is in serious trouble. The US is growing, thank goodness, and I believe the figure is approximately 2%. The advisory council's figures for 2012 show the number of people at work has fallen and we had negative growth last year again. Unemployment figures have fallen, but this is obviously because people are either retiring or leaving the country. For this year and the following two years we will still be in fiscal consolidation and a lot of pain is still to be had. As the witnesses have pointed out repeatedly, the trading environment is hugely difficult, and yet the Department of Finance is once again stating we will get a lovely hockey stick this year, next year and the following year. Do the witnesses believe it? This is a loaded question.