Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am happy to yield to Senator Sherlock because I know that she has looked into the area of public investment as well.

On a practical level, I would like to hear Dr. Ehnts outline the timeline for a review of economic governance. There are very practical questions. I think that Dr. Ehnts and over 99 institutions, academics, NGOs and others have signed a letter that says, for example, that the period for considering what comes next needs to move beyond spring 2022. We know that the European Central Bank has been purchasing assets but was considering winding down its purchase of state bonds or assets, or reducing that, next spring. I ask Dr. Ehnts to inform us, as a committee, in terms of our intervention into this process. What is Dr. Ehnts's sense of where the debate is at now in terms of what will unfold during 2022? Is it an extension from 2023 to 2024 of the current suspension of the fiscal rules and the Stability and Growth Pact to allow for better debate on what comes next? Should the European Central Bank continue to purchase of assets? I ask Dr. Ehnts to comment on the timeline issues and practical issues.