Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

We will not go into that debate. The Minister and others like him, people who are earning salaries of €180,000, will also benefit from this tax cut. It is not directed only at people who are going back to work. It is all about priorities. The Minister has his priorities. My priorities are to make the investment in capital infrastructure in terms of housing, to make sure we recruit enough nurses and doctors to deal with the hospital crisis and to make sure we reduce the cost of living through reducing rents and the cost of childcare. The Minister has a different suite of policies and that is fine. We will go to the electorate and ask them to decide.

I will turn to the budget contingency fund. We know the figures that have been outlined. We must consider where we are at in terms of the recovery and the opening up of the economy. There is €2.8 billion in an unidentified reserve fund for Covid-19 measures, possibly including the extension of the employment wage subsidy scheme, EWSS, which should be extended at least into the first quarter of next year. Does the Minister believe that number is on the high side, given the new information we have? Is he aware that the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council, IFAC, is hinting that some of that money will not be drawn down in 2022?