Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

In the witnesses' very good report, in the summary on page 9, they make a point at the end that should two of these adverse shocks materialise simultaneously, with a real fear of a combination of a Brexit cut in demand and an international issue such as corporation tax, trade war or the Italian issue, we could have a reasonably quick turnaround from an economy that is growing at full throttle to one that might have weakening demand. The witnesses say in response that the Government should, in principle, act to support the economy insofar as possible during any period of unusually weak demand. What could that unusually weak demand be? From my perspective, I would be coming with a "Green New Deal" proposal as a major expansion of investment in the decarbonisation programme we have to do, retrofitting buildings, building renewables, building grids and in public infrastructure. A significant investment programme is required for a "Green New Deal". Would that be one band? The New Deal was the original counter-cyclical investment programme from Roosevelt. Would that be a credible tool that we could use if we ended up, although please God we will not, in such adverse circumstances? Would it be a credible economic strategy for the Government to use that to support the economy in those circumstances?