Lisa Chambers (Mayo, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I apologise for being late but I had another appointment before this. It has been recommended that the Government should not exceed €800 million in the budget day package. I recall a similar conversation last year about the available fiscal space. The IFAC's statement was that it was at the upper limits of prudent budgeting. Lo and behold, with one week to go to the budget, some €300 million was found and it went beyond the council's recommendations for the year. It is likely that more than €800 million will be spent in the budget day package because it seems to be the practice to hold onto the available fiscal space until the last minute in order that the rest of us do not know about it. If the budget package is in excess of €800 million, what risks does that pose to our economy? If it is more than the package should be, what would the IFAC's advice to Government be, as well as to us as the committee that will report on this?

On Brexit, it is interesting that the witnesses say the standard models being used may not fully capture the integrated supply chains and the extent of our relationship with the UK. In our budgetary process, what should we do to try to offset or counteract the worst effects of whatever type of Brexit we get? We are still planning for the unknown but it will hit in 2019 so we need to do something financially to try to protect our country.