Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

On the prospects and outlook for the economy, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform said of the deal struck on Garda pay - I assume it would apply to any additional costs arising from other negotiations - that the cost of approximately €40 million would have to come from existing resources. It would be helpful if the Minister would indicate if this means an axe will be taken to the capital programme to the tune of approximately €40 million. In a developmental model of the Irish economy over the next ten to 15 years, one critical area that suffered significantly during the collapse, kind of like a feeble patient slowly recovering, is capital expenditure.

I heard the American ambassador on RTE this morning stating the obvious. While our corporate tax rate is attractive, President-elect Trump has certainly indicated on various platforms that he will introduce a reform of American corporate taxes, bringing them down to approximately 15%. As the ambassador stated on radio this morning, American companies do not just come here for the tax rate. They come for the standards and levels of education of people, their employability and the fact that we speak English. There is also the significant issue of us being part of the European Union. However, the Minister knows from discussions - as I know from my constituency experience and discussions as a Minister with many companies - that the constant complaint is around public infrastructure, particularly in areas like transport and broadband. All of us from Ireland know we have major infrastructural challenges such as those on the education front, as has been mentioned, at third level as well as primary and secondary level. There are also challenges in health.

The Minister's colleague indicated the €40 million for the Garda settlement would be found from resources. Does the Minister have a sense at this point what those resources will be? Will it come from the Department of Justice and Equality or different Departments? On many occasions I gave very significant amounts from the Department of Social Protection budget to the Department of Health. Will this be the same kind of approach?

I saw the Minister for Social Protection saying he would not give an inch. Will the Minister tell us where that money will come from, as well as any further moneys that may arise? I note that €290 million, a significant amount of money, has been set aside for the Lansdowne Road process.

My second question relates to changes in the European Union in 2017. I was happy to see the Minister for Finance for once being very critical, at the most recent ECOFIN meeting, of the failure to reform the fiscal rules in Europe. They were made a long time ago by the Germans and, as we are all aware, they are quite Germanic. They have not been revised significantly since then. In the context of this discussion, will the Minister say if he has made any progress with his fellow Ministers for Finance in getting the fiscal rules reviewed? If we are facing into a period of deep uncertainty, it would make sense to amend the fiscal rules in a way that takes account of small open economies such as Ireland's. We are not yet able to benefit from the Juncker plan. We do not have very large companies based in Ireland to take up the Juncker plan in the way the Italians, French and Germans can, and indeed the English if they stayed in the European Union.

In the context of the budget catering for both capital and current expenditure, I would be grateful if the Minister could tell us the actual plans and where the extra €40 million, for a start, will be found.