Barry Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

That concludes today's proceedings. I thank the Ministers for making themselves available, for presenting their summer economic statement last week, and for bringing it to the committee to elaborate on it and respond to questions.

As a committee we have been seeking to arrive at various forms of consensus in our efforts to help and ensure the upcoming budget meets with as much approval as possible, notwithstanding the nature of our game that it can never be unanimous, of course. However, it has to be recognised that the economy is performing reasonably well. There is a record number of people at work and the unemployment rate is at a record low.

We have responded, in a way we would never have envisaged some years ago, to the great shocks that could possibly have dented the country's finances, such as Brexit, the Ukraine war, the cost of living and the impact they have had on us. I also stress the note of caution that has been sounded regarding the difficulties in the global economy and the possible impact that may have on our exports and so forth.

We also note the plea for political buy-in from across all parties and none regarding the impending setting up of a vehicle to manage and maintain an income from the proper investments that could be yielded from the windfall tax receipts. It is worth noting that the same political divide across all parties and none ten years ago could acknowledge then the impact of the over-reliance we had on property-related receipts and the impact that had when a bigger outside shock hit as well. If people are conscious of the commitments they made to their electorate at that time, they should not stray too far from the Government's intention in that exercise in the coming months.

I want to touch briefly on a constraint in the economy in the area of energy, something that was mentioned in the Ministers' statement. I have spoken often and at length about our unfortunate incapacity on the part of EirGrid, the Commission for Regulation of Utilities, CRU, and the relevant Departments to meet some of the ambition that has been there for the past ten years to facilitate the sort of energy provision and capacity that is needed to meet the demands of a growing economy and the essential infrastructure that is needed for many top technological companies who we congratulate and welcome in coming here. We have great expertise in our students and workforce to entertain those companies to locate here, but they have to be able to store their information here too. Any threat to that is something we should be conscious of. The Minister, Deputy Donohoe, mentioned the recent auctions that have been held that have the capacity to make a major contribution to the economy and to the regions.

We also note, as the Minister, Deputy McGrath, said earlier, that the impending planning and development legislation will also play a role in addressing many of the planning deficiencies that exist in relation to providing the sort of infrastructure that is needed at a faster pace than has been the case over recent years. It is essential that happens. I would plead with those in other parties and none to be conscious of that expectation. The realisation of that ambition is something that needs to be taken seriously when that large Bill is produced in the autumn and brought into the Houses thereafter. It will address housing and planning in that sphere but especially the area of energy and the major infrastructure projects that are needed to carry on and to be in a position to take advantage of the sound economy we have now, but conscious of the pressures that will come to bear because of the international scene.

Against that backdrop and notwithstanding those points, I thank the Ministers again and look forward to further engagement, when and if necessary. I know they are always available to meet with this committee and we are more than willing to help and assist in any way we can, together with the various stakeholders who also want to make a contribution. Thank you very much indeed.