Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I will keep them very short. Is the commission going to look at international experience? For example, employers' PRSI here is way below what is required. That brings me to my second question. The commission has been asked to look at long-term commitments from the Government but governments change. Some parties want to see a bigger State and greater State involvement while others want to see more of the lifting done by the private sector. Will the commission look beyond current Government commitments?

My third and final question relates to the expert group on childcare which has been established. The Department is publishing papers as it goes along. The final report will consider recommendations and so on but research papers are being published to inform the debate and discussion as we go along. I looked at the minutes of one of the commission's meetings and they indicated that the commissioning of a number of papers on tax expenditures and tax levers for public health was being considered. It is really important that those papers be published as the commission goes along with its work. Obviously, there would still be a final report which would cover the commission's analysis and final recommendations.