Professor John McHale:

Yes, we are very much aware of that and it goes back to the other area on which we focus in the report, namely, the underlying spending pressures. Spending has had to be curtailed to pull ourselves out of the crisis and there will be strong pressures on the system down the line. We have to set priorities and, given the stringent fiscal rules we face, there is a limited amount of fiscal space available. We have to make hard decisions when it comes to tax cuts, as opposed to making sure there is adequate provision of public services and social protections. While recognising the extreme pressures politically and on the public, we do not want to repeat the mistakes that brought such devastation on us in the past. That came from following a procyclical fiscal policy and we really want to come out of the crisis with a framework to ensure we do not repeat those mistakes again.