Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

We have moved over the three-year period to which the Chairman refers from sovereigns in the eurozone being de factoin charge of their own budgetary systems to a situation in which there is a fiscal union and the various requirements of the six-pack, two-pack, excessive deficit procedures and European semesters, all of which require compliance. That compliance requirement is met, in the first instance, by the relevant Departments and, in particular, the Department of Finance and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. There is then a reporting system to the Commission, with the latter assessing whether a sovereign has complied with the conditions of the various new arrangements. The Commission then brings its assessment to be placed on the agenda of ECOFIN. I often meet with the sub-committee prior to ECOFIN meetings to discuss where we are at and where we are going. There is an opportunity for the sub-committee at that stage to have an input into the process.