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

I want to probe Professor McHale further on the medium-term objective of a balanced budget in structural terms by 2018. Yesterday, the Minister for Finance stated that the Department's assessment is that if the growth projections are achieved, beyond the budget for 2015 there will be no need for any further fiscal consolidation to achieve a balanced structural budget by 2018. We can contrast that with the IMF's report yesterday which indicates additional fiscal consolidation in the region of €7.5 billion between now and 2018. Will Professor McHale discuss that? He has said that based on the SPU 2014, non-interest expenditure would have to fall by about 8% of GDP by 2018. What are we facing into after the budget this coming October?