Professor John McHale:

Yes. Such a costing arrangement is a very good idea and would strengthen the overall budgetary architecture. However, it would be a very resource-intensive activity and if it were done, it would be very important that it would be done well with much credibility for everyone involved in the process. We would not have the resources to do something like it now and it would take a reasonable lead time to ensure the capacity was in place. Potentially, given adequate resources, we could examine doing it in the future. However, it would not need to be us. An Oireachtas budget office would be an alternative. It is a good idea, but it must be done right and adequately resourced.