Mr. Eugene Downes:

Taking up Deputy Gino Kenny's point on the figures, it is interesting that in recent months the campaign was using these figures, which are originally from the Council of Europe and which date back a number of years. That is always a challenge with transversal studies of this kind. In this instance, for example, the data dates back to 2011. We called moving from 0.11% to 0.3% going halfway instead of moving to 0.6%, which is the European average. Our current spending is, therefore, approximately one fifth of the European average. The Minister and the Department have questioned the basis for those figures, both in parliamentary questions and in correspondence, meetings and so on, but the Department has not offered an alternative figure. There is definitely a gap in terms of getting the data and how the data is analysed. One of the things for which a cross-party committee is particularly useful is that we can genuinely at least reach agreement on what are the actual figures. Then we can reach an analysis of how it should go forward. There may be a range of different political views on what that level of investment should be - we would obviously advocate a very ambitious level of investment - but if all parties and, indeed, the Department, could agree what the figures actually are, that would be a good basic analytical starting point. That is something on which the campaign would really welcome engagement, both on the Deputy's side and from the Department.