Mr. Jim Power:

On the capital expenditure piece, there is a change in the mode of thinking around public finances. We have left the days of austerity thinking behind us, globally and not just here. Simon Wren-Lewis, an Oxford college economist, recently wrote a piece about the desirability of allowing a country to increase its national debt if the money is being spent to address major capital deficits. Climate change was the one he very much focused in on, basically saying that if we do not engage in massive capital spending at the moment in addressing climate change, ultimately, we will end up paying a great deal more to deal with the problems. That mode of thinking is certainly becoming more real now in economic policymaking circles and that is why we need to think about the quality of that spend rather than the quantity. It is the type of project being invested in and where it is being invested in. A Bill like this which creates transparency, although it is looking back five years, effectively, should change behaviour and would force the political system to ensure there is some form of watchdog now which will ensure we do the right thing.