Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the witnesses this evening and thank them for sharing their thoughts with us. The biggest issue we have at the moment relates to budgetary matters and the forecasting we have. How can we better prepare so that we have more accurate forecasting, in light of what has happened this year with the increase in revenue which was not predicted? What is the Department of Finance not doing? Should we be monitoring progress on a monthly basis in terms of income and expenditure? Are there formulas? Is there a watching brief or how is it done? I am asking that in the context of fears around inflationary pressures going into next year and the projections on where we might be in 2022. That might be a loaded question but effectively what I am asking for is the council's opinion on how we can be more accurate in our forecasting.