Mr. Rob Wright:

I did not think I should limit my aim that much. When we have something this important everybody should front up to say what can we do differently going forward. This is not a question of looking to blame people but is asking what they have to do better. That is what drew me to this work. It is what really impressed me about my engagement with the Department and others. There are things that they have to do better. There are a lot of things that members as politicians will have to do better. I can talk about it at any time members want to - it is not just in Ireland, there are issues everywhere.

Again in Canada we have drifted away from a medium-term economic agenda that enhances future growth. It is very hard to sell politically concepts of building a stronger future when one knows there is an immediate risk for something that has to be resolved. That is something that is going to have to focus one's mind here.

There is going to be an election now. Again, another example, if there is a programme of government - and there will be coming out of this election - in Canada because we went through this grief in the 1990s, Canadians do not want an ongoing deficit. There was an enhanced deficit to deal with the financial crisis in Canada. The Government in power now in the last election said, "We have some ideas to spend more money on tax relief and other relief, but we're not going to do that till we balance the budget." Other parties did not attack that principle. Even if this may not be the best fiscal policy at the current time, it is an important guideline going forward.

So in Canada we will have an election in the coming year and I think people will be saying, "If you're going to offer tax relief, where are you going to get the revenue from? If you're going to offer spending, where are you going to get the revenue from then?" I think if one has an engagement now on a programme of government that is very ambitious on spending the question should be, "Where are you going to get the money for that?"

I would think that given the current climate, with the fiscal council and the Department of Finance, one of the most important questions of the coming year or two is, "Do you have some fiscal parameters that are important to guide the people of Ireland and its politicians in knowing what they should be doing?" If there is a surprise to the upside in revenue, it is because the economy is doing quite a bit better than one had anticipated and perhaps there are some sectors that are overheating. The last thing one wants to do in economic terms may well be to spend that money. If one has a menu of actions that people want and an unanticipated surplus, should one spend that on those needs or should one pay down the debt? There is a very strong case that one should pay down the debt. Again that is something that should be developed, otherwise it is back to the same old game and I do not think that is going to work.

Similarly in Canada, a piece of advice we had was that the Government and the Department have to have the strength to give advice on a medium-term economic plan, which is what does one do that can regain some of the magic from the early 1990s to say that we are going to enhance the competitiveness of Ireland. The Minister did put out a medium-term economic plan. It is a very high-level document, but there are some really important new ideas in there, such as expanded financial framework funding for small business. There are other areas one can talk about, which is a more efficient tax regime rather than just a fair tax regime and further investments that enhance one's competitiveness. So it is not all just the wage levels.

I think the way forward to focus on initiatives should be on areas that enhance the prospects of economic growth in Ireland and areas that respect this very challenging new world, members will face as politicians, when they do not have a monetary policy or a bank governor who is going to restrain monetary policy when it is needed. The members are going to have to help restrain the ambitions of the Irish people - 12% a year in spending. Of course, I am a Canadian so I can come here and say that - the committee probably will not have other Secretaries General but that is what is needed.