Alan Farrell (Dublin Fingal, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Yes, they are. I refer to the management of the national debt. What do we do in the event of an international downturn or an all out trade war between China and the US and its implications for the EU and Ireland? We like to say we are in the heart of Europe but we are a small island off the edge of it. That is a problem in these potential scenarios. I refer to protecting Irish taxpayers and the ability of the State to meet its multi-annual demands over a generation to get from that figure of €206 billion. Some of the figures I was looking at are fairly static over the last few years. I refer to page one on the Government debt. It shows that figure plateauing in or around €200 billion since 2013. It was not far off it in 2012. What projections have the witnesses made in respect of the ability of the State, on an ongoing multi-annual basis, to not just meet its minimum payment but to be able to reduce it in any kind of meaningful way? What sort of net impact is it foreseen to have on the domestic economy?