Mr. Sebastian Barnes:

I thank the Deputy. That is a very good question. It is one the council has not thought about or discussed. We will take note of, think about and discuss that to see if it is something we want to raise. From our perspective, we have a formal mandate with these four pillars. We actually have a formal mandate to make reports twice a year on the SPU and on the budget. We always felt that if we just did that, however, we would not necessarily be doing the best service for the Irish people or for what the legislation was intended to do originally.

For a number of years, we published a pre-budget statement ahead of the budget, which we sometimes discussed with Oireachtas committees. We have often commented on the summer economic statement in the past. This time, there is obviously quite a lot of substance in it. There is a slightly curious position where the European requirement is focusing on the SPU in April and the draft budget in October but, of course, the summer economic statement and national economic dialogue are important parts of the Irish discussion. The question raised by the Deputy is, therefore, a sensible one. We will take note of it and see if others have views. I think it is a good question.