Mr. John McCarthy:

At the Committee on Budgetary Oversight yesterday the Minister said that there are so many moving parts, and I appreciate this is problematic, and that we are dependent upon the European Commission. Every member state is in the same boat. May is the kick-off point for the whole budgetary process across the EU. This is when the Commission gives the member states the relative inputs for calculating the fiscal rules, for compliance with the rules and for calculating fiscal space and so on. So much has happened and so much water has gone under the bridge since the summer economic statement last year, which is now nearly ten months old. The Minister now wants to wait until the summer economic statement this year before he will make any statement on that.