Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister and the Minister of State to the committee. My questions concern the Vote before us, but before I put them I will make a broad point about the need for this committee to make time for a discussion on the summer economic statement and the recent report of the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council. Notwithstanding the time constraints we face today, I would welcome the opportunity to have a broader discussion on the very macroeconomic issues that affect us all, particularly how the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform fits into that firmament, because there are legitimate questions relating to the summer economic statement concerning the costings for 2017 of recent announcements such as the Revised Estimate for health and the €200 million local investment fund for local authorities. On the latter, we need an opportunity to interrogate the modalities of that scheme and its cost in terms of public expenditure but also in respect of-----