Brian Leddin (Limerick City, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for appearing before the committee, his statement and his efforts in managing the finances in the past 15 months since we entered the pandemic. It is a difficult time for everybody but it is obviously so for him in his position.

I am very interested in the issue of the wall of cash to which he alluded in his statement. The savings of many people have increased during the pandemic. The concern is that, as we reopen the economy, there may be a spending splurge, which may lead to inflation. We may see money leaving the country. People and families may be inclined to go overseas on foreign holidays when they can and the purchase of new vehicles may increase significantly if we do not seek to curb it, if that is the right thing to do. We probably should seek to stimulate economic activity in Ireland rather than seeing much of those savings go overseas.

For environmental reasons, I am particularly interested in the risk of a significant uptake in the sale of new cars. The new petrol and diesel cars that are sold this year will be the ones generating emissions in 2030 when we are trying to cut emissions by more than half their current level.

I would very interested to hear the Minister elaborate on the challenge of dealing with the wall of cash, inflation and money leaving the country rather than stimulating economic activity within our borders.