Pauline Tully (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

In the opening statement, mention was made of a colleague of the witnesses being involved in the North's fiscal commission, which was established by the Minister, Conor Murphy. The report produced by that commission recommended 23 changes around further fiscal devolution for the North. To what extent does the lack of fiscal autonomy impact on the economy in the North and across the island?

Connected to this point, NERI has recently undertaken comparative research on the labour markets North and South. This has indicated there are significantly lower employment rates in the North. To what extent is this the result of the Executive's inability to tailor financial interventions in the context of impacting employment rates? I know many factors impact in this regard and the witnesses have probably identified quite a number of them. Regarding fiscal autonomy in the North, though, how does this aspect impact?