Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Yes, I refer specifically to the non-core funding that we have made available in recent years for the two most recent shocks that we have had. I highlight where we have been with the cost of living due to the inflationary surge, and while we could have expected that it was going to happen, few expected it was going to happen with the speed it did.

I would also particularly highlight where we have been with migration challenges and looking after all those who come to our country. Before we dealt with all of that, we had to deal with the pandemic. For me, the pandemic is the greatest example of why non-core funding really works. We were spending tens of billions of euro in non-core funding to deal with the employment wage subsidy scheme, the pandemic unemployment payment and all the funding that the health sector needed. At some times, some people wondered, including myself - even in darker moments - whether we would ever be in a position to be able to stop this funding. We have been able to do so because the pandemic passed. If we had made all that money permanently available to Departments, we would now have rates of Government spending that would be extremely high, despite the fact that the crisis that required the spending has passed. That shows the value of non-core funding.