Mr. Svein Gjedrem:

The thoughts that have been expressed on that issue in Ireland are promising. There are two elements to the income Ireland gets from international companies that have established themselves by opening a European office in Ireland. Those companies give quite high incomes to Ireland but we do not know if that will last. Ireland may have that for five, ten, 15 or 20 years but it might go away thereafter. The uncertainty in the long term is one consideration. That income might also fluctuate a lot. If Ireland was to spend it all when income is high, there will be a problem when that income declines. That was the case in respect of our oil income. That income has lasted longer than we thought possible but it has fluctuated a lot. That can create many problems in the domestic economy. If you have a very high and fluctuating income from one kind of source and you spend it on good things, such as infrastructure you need, including railways, roads, energy support and whatever else, you have to expect that your cost level will be influenced and that will have a crowding out effect on other industries. That is important to take into account.

For the longer term, as I understand it, Ireland, like many other countries, has an issue with pensions and increases in long-term pension expenditure. There is a case for saving money for the longer term. It is important to take care not to run into cost problems - the Dutch disease, as we call it - due to high and fluctuating incomes. It is also important to consider how to use the money to solve the long-term pension financing issues in the Irish economy. The number mentioned by the Cathaoirleach Gníomhach, although not as high as our oil income, is substantial. If it is spent domestically, that will influence Ireland's cost level. It will have a structural impact on other parts of the Irish economy.