Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

The opening statement referred to competitiveness.

IFAC will be advising on the fiscal approach and what fiscal space there is, to use the terminology.

One of the big measurements that seems to come into play in relation to competitiveness is wage inflation, but some of the big multinationals on which we are so dependent - we just heard that - are highlighting a whole other issue, namely, the cost of living and accommodation in particular. In terms of being prudent, to what extent is that factored into the management of the economy because, increasingly, we are seeing those costs absorbing huge amounts of household income? Google, for example, said more than two years ago that accommodation was a real issue for it. Is it a real issue for the Department of Finance in terms of prudently managing the economy?