Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The rule maker and the rule administrator for Ireland as for all other European countries is the European Commission. We deal with the Commission. The Fiscal Council has a separate and distinct role. It is very important that it should be free to give a view that is different from that of the Government. One of the problems identified in the recent past was that contrarian views were not entertained and were sometimes mocked and derided. I think it is very important that we preserve the independence of the Fiscal Council and we support its right to comment, but that does not mean we have to agree with it all the time. That is my position. In terms of the application of the rules, we have to deal with the Commission. Last Monday week the Commission decided our budget was totally in accordance with the rules but pointed out some upside risks.

It said the budget was broadly compliant and cleared it. The Commission said we could go ahead for 2016 and implement the budget without any alteration whatsoever, and that is what we are doing.

In regard to the criticism made by the Fiscal Advisory Council, it also said our 2016 budget was in accord with the rules, but made a criticism concerning the Supplementary Estimates in 2015. It is a matter of opinion. As long as I have been here - I am here a long time now - there have been Supplementary Estimates at this time of the year every year. One could argue the Supplementary Estimates this year were slightly heavier than they were in previous years, but the extra money was used for the health services, for buying new buses in Dublin, for repairing country roads, for extra policing and extra money for the Garda and across a range of issues. If one is a practical, practising politician, one probably has a different view than the Fiscal Advisory Council. I am not criticising the right of the council to have an independent view and to express it strongly. All I am saying is that I as Minister for Finance, and Deputy Howlin as Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, also have the right to go to the Government and get decisions that do not accord with the council's advice, because we think it is socially and economically necessary to do so.