Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I appreciate that. With the Minister, we have been dealing with the arrangements to set up the budget oversight committee. The difficulty is that data can sometimes become outdated the following day or sometimes the following week. As the Minister implied, a portion of the summer economic statement was dedicated to the impact of Brexit, and it covered the extreme scenario of a reduction in GDP in Britain of approximately 6% and the impact of this on our economy. We are well used to documents showing risks that may or may not materialise. It is prudent to show what could happen if a risk materialises. The risks have now materialised, although we do not know how this will play out. Brexit is no longer a risk. It has happened and the decision has been taken. Therefore, in estimating our GDP and fiscal space over the coming years, would it not be prudent to say that our most up-to-date data allow us to say that GDP, for example, will not grow by a certain percentage because we have already identified that a vote in favour of Brexit could reduce GDP by approximately 1%? Is it not important for the Department of Finance to think like this? I cannot see how this would be a major issue for it given that it has already done the analysis. The Minister has referred to the ESRI, what the British Government has done and what the Department of Finance has done to update the data available in order that we can have the most up-to-date data given the decision on Brexit.