Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It is the right of the committee to put these issues forward and it is my right, as a member of Government, to outline my view on these matters, which is what I am doing. Is the budgetary process robust? The answer to that question is "yes". I am struck by the things which are not coming up in the questions put to me as I make the point that we will deliver our deficit targets for the year, which are at the heart of the Government's budgetary stance.

I will address the issues which the committee have raised with me. If I had not found the money to deal with the ruling of the Labour Court in respect of the Garda issue, I would have had to deal with questions, probably from the Deputy's own party as well as other colleagues, regarding why the Government was not complying with a recommendation from the Labour Court. I had to respond to that. When I put the budget together in October, before the Labour Court made its recommendation, I was not aware of the nature of its ruling because it had not yet been made.

In respect of the Lansdowne Road stabilisation, I was in the Dáil shortly after the Labour Court recommendation. Many political parties were telling me that public pay policy was unravelling and that I had to fix it. When I responded with the Landsdowne Road agreement stabilisation package, which I do not recall anybody opposing at the time, it played a part in stabilising public pay. When the budget is put together, it is put together on the basis of what is expected to happen during the year. When things happen which are not expected, and which could not reasonably have been expected, I have a duty to respond. All of my responses were either called for by political parties represented here or would have led to criticism had I not made them.

Is the process robust? Yes. As I have said, the deficit targets, which are the outcome of the process, will be delivered.