Joe Neville (Kildare North, Fine Gael)

I thank the witnesses for coming in. We have got used to experts and people who really know their areas coming in such as previous Central Bank colleagues as well as the ESRI and IFAC. There are a lot of the same trends and thoughts. That will help us tomorrow as we have discussions with the Ministers, Deputies Chambers and Donohoe. We want to get as much information as possible. I will ask a number of questions.

I get the sense that the witnesses are essentially saying the economy is going really well and we are getting a lot of money in, but unfortunately a lot of it is coming from one source. If we keep spending it broadly we will be in a situation where we might not get that money in the future, and we will potentially be left with an overhanging cliff down the line. That is something the witnesses want to keep away from. That is the overall theme. That puts us in a situation where we are coming up against a budget where we have this money, but how do we spend it intelligently? At the same time, we must be conscious too that if we spend on capital infrastructure that also has a way of overheating the current expenditure, because it is inextricably linked as we are still spending at the same time.

Why do the witnesses think youth unemployment is growing faster?