Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister and his officials for attending. This is my first committee meeting, having just recently been appointed. In my preparation for a discussion on macroeconomics, I had not expected it to be dominated in the early stages by water charges. Having served on the water committee for four months along with the Chairman, it is important to touch on the issue. I agree that we should refund everybody and stick to our commitment that those who paid will be treated no less equally that those who did not. It is a little rich on the part of politicians and parties who advocated for water services and water infrastructure to be paid for out of general taxation to complain when what they called for happens and the money for the refunds comes out of the general taxation pot. They will not like that either.

I will leave the matter there.

I want to touch on the risk of economy overheating, which the Minister has previously referenced and which has been mentioned in commentary by the ESRI, the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council and others. The Minister's predecessor, Deputy Noonan, referred to not returning to the boom-and-bust cycles of the past. The contributing factors to the Celtic tiger boom and bust included the disproportionate role of the construction sector and driving unsustainable growth in the economy. As we face into a future in which increased construction activity will be needed in both the residential and commercial areas, how can we best ensure that happens, that we do not curtail the development that needs to take place without it having a negative impact on our economy and that we learn from the mistakes of the past?