Ciarán Lynch (Cork South Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Okay, thank you very much, Senator. I'm just going to move to wrapping things up. Mr. Cowen, I just want to come to ... I just have one particular question there.

If I can, it's ... I just want to direct you to a document ... it's actually an engagement that you had with the finance committee back in 2007 - it'll be a public document, I just want to familiarise you with it for a moment - it's ... in March 2007 during a public hearing in front of the finance committee, you presented your opinion of the European Commission and I think it's there on paragraph ... yes, the middle paragraph there:

The Commission considers that the main budgetary risks relate to a potential sharp downturn in the current high levels of residential construction and property prices [and I think about two paragraphs down, you start talking about counter-cyclical policies and] I should explain that under the pact, member states which are already at their medium-term budgetary objective should endeavour to avoid implementing pro-cyclical policies or an expansionary fiscal stance during [the] economic good times.

This is the general kind of reporting that a Finance Minister would give to the finance committee. However the ... in this regard, and it was also presented ... you also presented the ECOFIN Council statement that Ireland should avoid pro-cyclical fiscal policies, as I mentioned, in the coming years. Considering this, and considering the budgets in 2006 and 2007 had been driven by rather pro-cyclical measures, how do you feel about ECOFIN's Council statement at that time? Was there a similarity and a congruence between what was being said in ECOFIN and the budgetary positions you were taking or was there a marked difference?