Tommy Broughan (Dublin Bay North, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the committee secretariat for the discussion papers which have been very helpful in terms of the background information provided therein on the performance of other countries' legislatures. Reference was made earlier to Austria and Sweden and how they reached many of the ideals we would have liked to have had in the past in terms of the examination of expenditure in preparation for budgets.

The parliamentary budget office is kind of critical to how the committee would work. I know there is a Deputy here from the reform committee. I was clear about that so far. It seems we are looking at a totally independent office. Our library staff prepared a paper for me on an Estimates committee last year. I felt the parliamentary budget office would report to this committee and have a very special relationship. As the paper indicates, this is an ex antestudy of budgets. I was a member of the Committee of Public Accounts in a couple of Dáileanna and the Comptroller and Auditor General, for example, did post hocstudies of budgets. Is this the role envisaged? The way the Taoiseach was explaining this in the past, it seemed it would be an office that would not have much of a relationship with this committee and would be totally independent.

I support the comments of Deputies Boyd Barrett and Doherty on poverty and equality proofing of budgets. I hope we will have a real opportunity to examine tax expenditures as well. We always felt it very frustrating when new expenditures are announced in a budget and the Dáil had no input into it.