Aindrias Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Dr. Cassidy for his presentation and for his informative responses to members' questions.

There are two or three areas I would like to tease out further. Dr. Cassidy highlights the amount of savings of some people, which they would be spending around 2022. He also made reference to other sectors that have been hit much harder. Has he a measure of those harder hit sectors and the difficulty those people are experiencing, in particular in meeting their mortgages? Is the Central Bank monitoring the level of distress in that sector? I am not sure there was any reference to it in the earlier discussion but I am particularly interested in whether the Central Bank has been monitoring, or has a measure or a view of, the distress those people are experiencing.

Second, in regard to the EU budget rules, much of which is set aside for the moment, it is only a matter of time before some shape is reintroduced in that regard. Does the Central Bank have a view on those budgetary rules and what shape does it consider is best suited as we emerge into a post-Covid environment?

Third, does Dr. Cassidy have a view on the possibility of inflation or interest rate increases?