Mr. Seamus Coffey:

I suppose I would see it as one of collaboration. In terms of our overall aims and objectives, there would be a shared sense of purpose in respect of budgetary oversight. From a fiscal council perspective, we would be outside of the Government and very much independent. To get the view from within the Government within the Parliament, our interaction with the Oireachtas is quite important, as we look to take a broader view of the budgetary position. We have various measures at an individual or household level with regard to spending and tax that other committees look at. What we have seen in Ireland in our history over the past 40 or 50 years is that the broad overall perspective, the impact of budgets on the economy, the position of the economy and whether we are operating in a sustainable fashion is hugely important. We have got it wrong too often for that not to be something that gets a lot of attention here. We think this committee, and our contribution to it, is maybe one of collaboration that we can identify some of these risks and try to avoid some of the mistakes we made in the past.