Aideen Hayden (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I will not detain the Minister much longer, other than to make one or two minor observations. The Minister noted that the 2011 comprehensive review of expenditure was undertaken at the height of the storm. This current review is being undertaken against a very different backdrop. This shows the limits of this type of planning process in that a planning process is only as good as the external economic circumstances at any moment in time. I am asking this question as the devil's advocate. To what extent are processes like this undemocratic given that they cover periods in which a particular Government may not be in office?