Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I wish the Minister good luck in his preparation for budget 2021. These are challenging times, no doubt.

I want to pick up on the Chairman's question about the deficit. In the budgetary strategy published on 16 September the Minster outlined that a 4.5% to 5.5% deficit of GDP on a no-policy-change basis included the €9 billion Covid-related expenditure. When the Minister talks of that 5% figure it includes €9 billion Covid-related expenditure, €1.1 billion pre-committed and the €1 billion capital that has already been factored into 2021. Is that correct?