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

The moment somebody comes up with a serious idea of how we could spend less in a Department, I would appreciate it if I could get a call so I could at least be there to hear it.

The Deputy spoke about the number of years involved with putting together the rainy day fund and the opportunity cost, and this is the challenge we will face. The moment this or a future Government starts setting aside money, the Opposition in the Dáil will call for that money to be spent now. Perhaps it will not be all the Opposition, although I suspect it will be. They will argue there is a better use for the money now. That is why there is value in a legislative approach to examining this concept. We need legislation to set it up anyway but the value of the Oireachtas making a decision is in creating a framework within which that kind of debate can happen.

I differ with the Deputy on the role of the Opposition. The Constitution is crystal clear that matters relating to the spending of money must sit with the Government. That is why the Government has the unique role relating to money messages. I would not support the set-up or access of this fund going beyond the role of the Government. It should sit with the Departments of Finance or Public Expenditure and Reform.

I agree with the Deputy about a built-in review but I do not have a strong view on whether it needs to be laid out in primary legislation. We should in particular review how much we are contributing to the fund and how long it will take to get to the right level of funding. When we have it up and running, it should be a minimum of €500 million. We should also consider that if one-off tax gains become available to the State, it would provide an ability to more rapidly build up the size of this fund than many years of individual contributions from tax revenue.