Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Deputy Doherty is right, to a point. Most of us would probably anticipate a scenario where it will be an annual routine for the Government to require itself to bring a resolution to the floor of the Dáil.

There are some guardrails, if I can describe them as such, here in the legislation, which cites the figures of 0.8% and 0.4%. There is also a function here for the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council, IFAC. It would be helpful, because it would assist in our understanding of the meaning of the legislation, to know how the Minister believes it will work in practice. Could he outline some scenarios regarding the flexibility he believes he would have as Minister for Finance to, for example, make changes in terms of the provision regarding the economic and fiscal situation and what might prompt him to reduce payments to 0.4% or maintain it at 0.8%? Crucially, on Committee Stage, I also seek the Minister’s view of the function of the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council in advising future Governments about what would constitute a deterioration of the economic and fiscal situation. I ask this because we know only too well that the advice of the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council has been routinely ignored by the Minister, as Minister for Finance, and by his predecessor. It is his right to do that. While he explained why he may not take the advice of the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council, he might advise us as to whether the provisional legislation advice by the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council is somewhat tokenistic. Is he prepared to be wedded to and commit himself to taking the advice of the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council when it advises that a different path ought to be pursued in the context of the deterioration of the public finances?