Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy. It is a very fair question. We are looking at very significant borrowing again next year and we need to do that because it is the right thing to do. We need to support the Irish economy through 2021, and maintain and improve public services where we can. We are anxious to make progress on some core programme for Government commitments because the crises pre-Covid have not gone away. They might not be getting the same level of attention as before the pandemic, but they are still very much there.

That is why I have signalled to the committee a desire to make decisions that improve our permanent capacity in health services. That is really important. We need to build more houses. The housing crisis still exists and needs to be addressed. They are core priorities for the Government and will be in the budget. We are looking at a deficit this year, in general Government terms, of the order of the mid-20s of billions. Next year's budget deficit will also be very significant, perhaps less than €20 billion. While the NTMA manages its cash reserves we are, in effect, increasing the national debt by amounts of that order which is significant.