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

Okay. Given the Department's primary role in terms of fiscal policy and in light of the fact that during your tenure, you would have had considerable experience in the areas of taxation and budgets, can I ask you to comment on the fact that cyclical taxes, including stamp duty, corporation tax, capital gains tax, rose as a percentage of total revenues from about 8% in 1987 to 30% in 2006, and towards the years leading to 2006 a greater acceleration in the growth in the overall percentage of such taxes? How did the increasing reliance on cyclical versus more stable taxes impact on fiscal policy?