Dr. Martin O'Brien:

The first way of addressing it is to have that sustainable macro position. If one does not have that sustainable fiscal position from a macro perspective then one will not have the flexibility or capacity to address any of the issues the Cathaoirleach has rightly raised as to how we would go about it. It is about having that framework in place where there is a sustainable growth in net government expenditure over the medium term that provides the solid basis from a macro perspective to deliver on key infrastructure, and to introduce other reforms that could help such as how various taxes are levied or how various expenditures are made to greater incentivise the kind of issues that have been raised here as needing to be addressed. The fundamental aspect from our position is that if the macro overall picture is right then it gives the basis on which to make the most effective decisions to deliver on some of the points the Cathaoirleach has rightly raised here.