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

One of the stark things in the council's report is the spotlight it has put on expenditure over the period to 2018. It is something I am very concerned about myself. The discussion has happened earlier in terms of having no more austerity but an 8% drop comparative with GDP. What was very helpful in the report was the cross-country comparison which shows that Ireland has one of the lowest levels among comparable countries at the lowest level. The United States of America is only marginally below us. No one in the room would want to follow the US policy in terms of investment in public supports.

This is a major challenge. When one puts it alongside the growth rates identified by the Government at 3.5%, which the council says is at the optimistic end of the range, serious concern is raised for the stability of the service. There is a major issue in terms of the delivery of the service for users but also for the economy itself. Society cannot take that level of cuts. This is a real cut in real effect over the next five years. It puts us in a vulnerable position for any future shock that may happen to the economy over the next five years. It is only six years ago, which seems like a lifetime ago given all that has happened, that we had the eruption of the banking crisis, which was already under way. Looking forward, we are looking at no increase in spending despite an ageing population, young people coming forward and huge pressures in education and health. There will be no increases in social welfare while inflation takes place. How serious does the council consider this is as an area of concern?