Eoghan Murphy (Dublin South East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Mr. McCreevy, could you just stick to the questions that I am asking, please? I mean, I appreciate that you have, you know, a right to answer the questions but I'm trying to pursue a particular line of evidence. Now you mention in your reply there about the success of your budgetary policy as part of you preparing for the dangers of, the risks associated with euro entry. But, in 2001, at the beginning of 2001, we see the censure from the Commission, and it states:

Given that the monetary policy is now set for the Euro area as a whole and no longer available as an instrument at national level, other policies, including budgetary policies, must be used more actively. ... The Council recalls that it has repeatedly urged the Irish authorities, most recently in its 2000 broad guidelines of the economic policies, to ensure economic stability by means of fiscal policy. The Council regrets that this advice was not reflected in the budget for 2001-----