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

I thank Mr. Coffey and his team. We are in an uncertain period. There is a tricky economic question.

Given Brexit, international factors like the trade war between China and the United States and the general cycle of expansion that is coming to an end globally, we could be facing into a very severe contraction next year. In these circumstances, would it not be prudent economically to expand public expenditure? While I understand Mr. Coffey's concerns about high levels of public debt, next year we may well be facing into a very severe contraction and the correct counter-cyclical economic strategy would be to engage in additional borrowing to try to maintain general Government revenue and economic activity. I know that is a very simple proposition but the council seems to be coming out very strongly against this. It is very strong in stating the Government has blown the budget in the last two or three years, with an overspend of €10 billion compared to what was forecast for the period 2015 to 2017 and the health budget running amok, and that now is the time to hunker down a little. While it may seem like a counter-intuitive argument, is this not the time to borrow? That is my first question. I will come back in following the response.