Professor Michael McMahon:

One point worth stressing is that it is not just public investment per sethat is important but targeted public investment and joined-up thinking across the planning framework. The Deputy asked about other member states but there are many examples to look to, including Singapore which is a world leader in this area. There, public investment is planned on a multi-year basis with clear co-ordination across Departments. For example, roads are built to places where houses will also be built and so on. It is about having a credible plan.

To go back to some of the answers we gave earlier, it is not that investment is good and current spending is bad. It is really about what we spend on. Good spending is good and in that sense, that is where the planning aspect of this is important. As the Deputy alluded to, there could be plans that would increase debt in the near term but which could be seen as very sustainable because they would bring benefits of growth further down the road. That is a really important part of the debt sustainability equation. That would be my main response to the Deputy's question. It is not just about one plan or another but about a joined-up plan and a multi-year plan. It is not tying the hands of the Government but it is giving a focus to all of the Departments, not setting each of them individual targets but getting them all to sing from the same hymn sheet.