Seán Haughey (Dublin Bay North, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Mr. Murphy for his presentation. The auditors are dealing with revenue of €139.7 billion, which is a big budget, and he has flown through the detail of it quickly but it is of benefit to us. There is much information in the reports and the subsidiary reports to which he refers. It is good to see the regulatory and legal position is improving compared with last year, which I think the citizens will be happy with.

On the MFF post-2020, the Taoiseach said Ireland would be prepared to increase its contribution to the EU budget, which we must be conscious of in our work in subsequent years. Is there anything in particular that we need to be alerted to if we increase our contribution? Is it just that we should be more vigilant in future or is there anything else that Mr. Murphy would like to advise us on in that respect?

I am sure the Chairman will be interested in bureaucracy and form-filling, and the balance between efficiency and being friendly to the citizen. Are things improving or otherwise in that regard? Citizens complain about the amount of bureaucracy and form-filling and the fact that it is quite daunting. Are there any moves to try to improve the situation or is the trend going the other way, with more form-filling and bureaucracy required?

Mr. Murphy mentioned a report on youth unemployment. Will he give us the headlines of it? During the recession there were many employment activation measures brought forward by the Government, some of which were funded by the EU. Are we getting value for money for EU-funded employment activation measures, particularly for youth unemployment? A general overview of that would be helpful.