Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 3 December 2015

Public Accounts Committee

2014 Annual Report and Appropriation Accounts of the Comptroller and Auditor General
Vote 7 - Office of the Minister for Finance
Chapter 1 - Exchequer Financial Outturn for 2014
Chapter 2 - Government Debt
Chapter 3 - Cost of Bank Stabilisation Measures as at the end of 2014
Finance Accounts 2014

10:00 am

Photo of Patrick O'DonovanPatrick O'Donovan (Limerick, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Is the Department happy that based on what we have control over within our own jurisdiction, there have been sufficient structural changes and insulation put in place so that we will not wind up again with an over-reliance on one sector?

Yes, I think that is the case. We are clearly making progress in reducing the deficit and that will allow us build up buffers so that we can implement counter-cyclical policies should the need arise. We are getting the debt ratio down, but we also have, as was mentioned, enhanced scrutiny and monitoring at a European level - the so-called macroeconomic imbalance procedure, the European Semester and all of that - whereby the Commission and other member states keep an eye on every member state to make sure that imbalances are not emerging. People sometimes think of the crisis as a fiscal one, but it was not; rather, that was a symptom of the crisis. The crisis was one of economic imbalances between north and south, current account deficits and so forth. There is much greater scrutiny available now, and if one is moving out of sync on any of the indicators - these indicators were published last week, the so-called scoreboard or the alert mechanism report - one is subject to procedural consequences and, potentially, sanctions. The safeguards are in place and we have a much more diversified economy, so we are in a better place.

Comments

No comments

Log in or join to post a public comment.