Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome Professor McHale and his colleagues to the meeting. I note this is his last appearance before the committee and I wish him well. He may be able to speak more freely in the future instead of having to represent the strict mandate under the terms of the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council.

I welcome his comprehensive and detailed report. He mentioned that using unexpected tax revenue is risky, the primary balance is not decreasing but is forecast to deteriorate and the expenditure benchmark will not be met in 2017, saying it is beyond prudent in respect of what the Government has done. It appears, however, that the council has endorsed the budget although that was something different. What is the council's overall stance on the budget? After five years I imagine the Minister for Finance and his officials could have predicted the council's critique of the budget. Many patterns are repeated, for example, using corporation tax in terms of permanent expenditure. During Charlie McCreevy's time tax reductions and expenditure increases were tied to stamp duty. Professor McHale says that year on year there have been upward revisions of previously published ceilings which happened before. He says one of the potential risks is a monetary policy in Europe that would not be conducive to the type of policy we have. This seems to mirror the past. The Department and Minister should have been conscious that the council would have criticised these elements in its budget yet they went ahead with it. What is Professor McHale's view of the fact that they have ignored what the council said?