Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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That is where the Minister should look if he is talking about raising extra taxes or wants to bridge deficit gaps or is trying to find revenue for the investment we so desperately need to create employment and kick-start economic growth.

We should highlight the fact that we are now approaching the situation of having a primary budget surplus. Our primary deficit is much smaller than the very large deficit which is regularly mentioned, most of which consists of interest payments on a massive debt the State has incurred as a result of the crash, and the unloading of the bank debt on the State to a point where if the Minister's growth projections and hopes do not materialise, it may be unsustainable. This year we will pay out €8 billion in interest on a debt most of which is not our citizens' debt. Do we not have to deal with that because we are close to the point of taking in as much in tax revenue as we spend but we are still in this deficit position which requires further attacks on incomes and so on, with the likelihood of further damage to the economy because of a massive interest bill?

I note, and the Minister noted in respect of the Estimates, that a significant sum is being paid out for consultancy advice to the Government on dealing with the banking crisis. The sum for 2013 is estimated at €6.5 million and the same for 2012. Will the Minister name the consultants who receive that money to advise him on the banking sector? It is a lot of money and some would say that they are not doing a very good job in dealing with some of the key concerns that citizens have about the banks.