Thomas Byrne (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I apologise for being late for the presentations but I was voting against the Finance Bill, partially on the recommendation of the Fiscal Advisory Council. It was not the recommendation of the Fiscal Advisory Council to vote against any measure but my decision was based on some of the reasons outlined by the council.

I would like to follow up on some of the points raised by Deputy Pearse Doherty. It seems to me that the IFAC is becoming a bit like Cassandra, who was given the power of prophecy by Apollo and then when she did not play ball, she was cursed with not ever being believed. There are similarities. It was said in response to Deputy Pearse Doherty that the Government might not listen to the case made by members of IFAC but it is important that they play their part in the media and engage in public debate. I put it to the members that under the legislation setting up IFAC, its primary function is to give the assessment to the Minister. Unlike a body such as the Ombudsman for Children, who has wide-ranging functions in legislation to contribute to the public debate or comment on various issues that affect children, IFAC does not have a similar range of functions. The legislation is very short and the primary function of IFAC is to the Minister. The debate that happens in the public domain is natural but the Government seems to dismiss the views of IFAC every year, which is dangerous as the council was set up for a very good reason. We did not listen to the few prophets who spoke out during the boom and that caused us problems. I do not accept what the members of the council have said and that it is okay if the Government does not listen because the media or the public will listen, as the primary function of IFAC is to advise the Government. Perhaps someone will comment in that regard.

There has been much discussion on contract manufacturing but illicit activities were also added to the national accounts this year. Have prostitution, drugs and smuggling made much of an impact on the Central Statistics Office, CSO, figures?