Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Okay. Given there have been changes in tax revenue and that the economic growth we are seeing is above what was projected in the summer economic statement, can the Minister outline the revised projections for the deficit in tax revenue this year and next year as a result of the tax buoyancy and higher than expected economic growth such that the committee is fully apprised of the detail? The Minister outlined the budgetary package of €1.5 billion discretionary, €500 million of which is for tax cuts. He also mentioned the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council. It has criticised these commitments and the fact that core expenditure rules permit these tax promises despite that they are permanent measures in nature. I am not sure if the Minister is aware of this but earlier today, in the Dáil, the Tánaiste made a clear commitment in terms of indexation on taxation. He went as far as explaining how it works and said that it was not tax cuts. I will not go into that debate, but there is a commitment to make sure that there will be no additional burden from tax as a result of wage increases.

We see from the Central Bank's quarterly bulletin that it estimates compensation per employee will rise by 4.9%. If the Minister is to index bands and credits at that rate, it will cost €681 million. How is the Minister going to pay for that?