Mr. Mario Draghi:

I thank the Deputy. We do not comment, generally speaking, on the details of the fiscal agenda of the individual countries. However, the fact is that Ireland has gradually improved its fiscal position in recent years, recording primary surpluses, supported by some favourable cyclical factors and low interest payments, and it continues to improve. I understand the budget discussions taking place in this committee are showing that the improvement continues. The draft budget plan foresees a balanced budget in 2019 and, for the first time since 2007, there will be a fiscal surplus in 2020 and beyond. Given the current buoyant economy, it is time to rebuild fiscal buffers. That is the best way to deal with the incoming risk we mentioned previously, namely, overheating and possibly Brexit. That is my answer to the Deputy's first question.

I do not know enough to answer the Deputy's question on the rainy day fund. If it falls into the category of building fiscal buffers for the situations where things will not be as good as they are today, that is a wise thing to do.