Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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I want to dig into the risks and also the dynamics of possible recovery which is also important. On the downside risks, is it fair to say that many of the risks emanate from what could happen in the wider European and international economy? If that is the case, and I believe that is the reason there is so much uncertainty because it is so unstable, does Professor McHale consider it is sensible that State policy and Government policy seem to be so focused on opening us even more to the vagaries of the global market and foreign direct investment, and we hear constant references to the fact that we are a small open economy and that is our future? Is that not opening us up more to the risks when, if what we need is insulation against the risks, we should be trying to shore up our economy to be able to better weather a situation where the downside risks materialise? To give an example of that, and I would be interested to hear Professor McHale's comment on this, property prices are beginning rise, perhaps somewhat surprisingly at present, and some of us are concerned that a property bubble is beginning to develop again. I note alarmingly that we have a property-based tax incentive, called real estimate investment trusts, which is technocratic language for enabling big corporate property investors to invest in the bottomed out property in the Irish economy and essentially speculate on making money out of it. That is driving up rents, which is causing a housing crisis, and showing alarming signs of a possible return to another property bubble. Is the advisory council not worried about that and is it not its responsibility to be worried about a possible return to a property bubble?