Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 23:

In page 5, before section 2, to insert the following new section:3.—The Fiscal Responsibility Act 2012 is amended in section 8 by substituting the following for subsection (4):

“(4) The Fiscal Council shall—

(a) endorse, as it considers appropriate, the macroeconomic forecasts prepared by the Department of Finance on which the Budget and stability programme will be based,
(b) provide an assessment of the official forecasts, and
(c) in relation to each Budget and stability programme, provide an assessment of whether the fiscal stance for the year or years concerned is, in the opinion of the Fiscal Council, conducive to prudent economic and budgetary management, including by reference to the provisions of the Stability and Growth Pact.”.”.

This amendment makes statutory provision for the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council to be responsible for endorsing the macroeconomic forecast on which Ireland's budget and stability programme will be based. The assignment of this endorsement role is a requirement under the two pack regulations. To clarify, the endorsement required is that the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council endorse the macroeconomic forecasts on which the budget and stability programme will be based. This means that the council will endorse the macroeconomic forecasts on which budgetary proposals will be prepared and on which the Government will then decide. In the interests of independence, the council cannot be required to endorse. Instead, it is required to fulfil the endorsement function and could, should it find it appropriate to so decide, announce that it will not endorse the forecasts. That sounds a little more convoluted than it is. We are obliged under the two pack regulations to have an independent agency. The Government has determined it should be the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council and the Minister for Finance has asked me to provide for this in statute. This is the statutory vehicle available to do this.

Amendments Nos. 24 and 25 are technical amendments, consequential on the acceptance of the amendment to permit the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council to take on the endorsement role envisaged under EU rules. Amendment No. 26 is also a technical change. As the Bill now contains a section which is amending the Fiscal Responsibility Act 2012 to add to the role of the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council, it is necessary to amend the Long Title and this is proposed in amendment No. 26.