Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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Can we move on? In your statement, you mention that your budget was based on responsible fiscal targets at the time. However, during the course of an interview, in the Wright report ... and if I could take you to Vol. 2, page 39. And this is a statement that David Doyle, the general secretary of the Department of Finance in your time ... he states that "In 2005[-2006] the Minister was advised [which was your good self] that the country was depending on unsustainable tax revenues that the economy had been dramatically over-heated and that problems would emerge which would be due to domestic policies and that a more sustainable fiscal position had to be maintained." And if I follow on, on page 41, which is from the Wright report, "Generally speaking, we found [the third last ... the last paragraph] [we found] that the advice prepared by the Department for Cabinet did provide clear warnings on the risks of pro-cyclical fiscal action."

Now, can I ask you, bearing this in mind and the various budgets in '05 and '06 and '07, was it responsible when effectively that the cyclical taxes were going up from, in your period, from 25% to 30% of total revenue, stamp duty had gone up from 5.5% to 8% of total revenue, and CGT from 4% to 7%? And yet, these were unsustainable taxes that in ... from ... in the years prior to you ... to your taking office, we'll say, Minister for Finance, in '03 and '04, spending went up by 5% and 7%, but '05, you rose it by over 9%, 2006, 11%, 2007 over 12%. So, do you still stand over that your budget was based around responsible fiscal targets?