Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

No. The measure of the expenditure rules, and where they put their focus on, is on the structural deficit. Recognition is taken of that in the expenditure benchmarks. As the Deputy well knows, the purpose of the structural deficit is try to strip out the volatility that happens in the revenues of a Government at any point in time. The expenditure benchmark is also calculated so that it looks at the ten-year performance of an economy as opposed to where an economy is at any one point in time. They are the capacities that are in place for a Government to respond back to a recessionary period.