Mr. Ed Hearne:

This issue sets the context for a great deal of public policymaking now and it will obviously be front and centre in the run-up to the budget. We already saw several packages of measures announced in February to try to assist with tackling the cost of living. Therefore, inflation is certainly front and centre in making major policy decisions now. At the more granular level, we will start seeing this aspect having more of an effect. Changes to public procurement rules were mentioned earlier. This will be something we must keep close eye on, depending on how construction inflation plays out. It could be the case that many of the supply chain issues will have resolved themselves in the near term, so we may not be looking at inflation in the price of materials along the same lines as we have seen heretofore. Inflation will certainly, though, become material in considering budgets for individual capital projects. In general, in respect of how inflation will inform what we do, it is critical to the wider environment in which public policy choices are being made, especially in the run-up to the budget.