Ms Michelle Murphy:

Thank you, Chairman. I will try to address some of the issues. In terms of being part of an alliance, there certainly is a range of opinions. It is like being part of a coalition and there is a lot of negotiation to be done. We have only been in existence for three months.

Deputy Kyne asked about feedback to Government. We met with officials from the Department of the Taoiseach today and the intention is to have a regular engagement with them, which should be very productive. We would like to meet with this committee on an ongoing basis, including for discussion on next year's country-specific recommendations and perhaps the annual growth survey. We are all learning from this process. In terms of the impact assessment, we would see the Department of the Taoiseach as having overall responsibility, given its responsibility for the national reform programme, for ensuring the various Departments implement what is set out in the assessment.

We absolutely agree with Deputy Durkan's view on the housing issue. The problem in regard to social housing did not just appear overnight. It has been 20 years in the making and will require investment to address it, which goes back to Senator Hayden's point regarding the cost of rental accommodation. We have a paper on mortgage arrears in which we make the case that while there is a recommendation on mortgage arrears, there are no details on how that goal is to be achieved. If the issue is to be tackled through negotiated solutions such as restructuring, it is very important that households which find themselves in difficulties are facilitated to remain in their homes. Any increased reliance on home repossessions will push those families into an extremely challenging housing market, further exacerbating the problem.

Mr. Ewing has dealt with the climate change issue. In terms of broadening the tax base, the debate in Ireland is very narrow and focused solely on income tax. We are far too reliant on income tax and PRSI. We must examine how to broaden the base by examining issues such as property and environmental taxation. In order to provide the services we need, we must be able to fund them. We need to have a rational discussion about these issues which involves all of society.

As Deputy Durkan observed, issues around water supply and water charges have become distorted. An important consideration is ensuring that those who are most vulnerable and those at the bottom are protected. Senator Hayden referred to fuel poverty, which has become a real issue. Any water charging structure must not push people into water poverty. This is a discussion the Government must have.

The Youth Guarantee is an excellent vehicle for funding, but of the €6 billion that is allocated as a whole, there is €648 million in total for Ireland. A pilot scheme is in place but we have been a little slow to implement it. We hope, in particular, that it will benefit young people who have left school early and are quite far removed from the labour market.

In terms of the budgetary process, two years ago the finance committee brought in groups to discuss how we might have a participatory budgetary process. It is an excellent idea which would involve discussing proposals before they are implemented and trying to determine what impacts they might or might not have. A change implemented in one Department will often impact another. In the case of changes to medical card provision, for instance, there also will be an impact on people in terms of social welfare.