Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Thursday, 5 December 2013
Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform
Fiscal Assessment Report November 2013: Discussion with Irish Fiscal Advisory Council
2:35 pm
Mr. Sebastian Barnes:
I am referring to the adjustment in the amount of consolidation in the budget. That decision affects what the projection is, where the centre of distribution is and, by extension, what the risks are in terms of meeting a fixed target like 2.9% or 3%. The exercise we have presented is a very precise one based on historical forecast errors on the macroeconomic side. Based on that exercise and some other modelling work, we see the probability of a breach in the ceiling shifting from one in three to one in two. It is a very limited exercise and does not reflect all of the issues. That said, the exercise does feel right to us in terms of the balance of risks at this stage.