Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank Mr. Dalton. He has made a strong and convincing case in respect of the impact this would have in terms of our national accounts.

We have many challenges in interpreting the data as policy- makers, especially in trying to figure out some of the anomalies we have seen from different data. Can Mr. Dalton comment on the reduction that we are seeing in the unemployment rate, which has been consistently dropping in recent months? If it is across the board, that is fine. However, what we are seeing is a reduction in income tax against what is profiled. It seems to be an anomaly. Since unemployment is falling at the current rate, we should be seeing an increase in income tax, or at least for that increase to be on profile. However, what we are seeing is a significant drop in the first quarter and in the results from last month. Is there something that we are not seeing? How can both of these things be happening at the same time?