Tommy Broughan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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Reference was made to revenue surprises but they are not really surprises are they? We would have known there were certain assets - even after the disaster of the banking crash - that would possibly be used in the coming years. Are these one-off surprises ever really total surprises? Obviously, the GDP measurements were a terrible shock to many people, and perhaps to the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council, but are the other revenue surprises really surprises? I note the point being made, and it is made well, but I had this discussion with the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform last week in the House. I sent the Minister a balanced budget in the run up to the Budget. My budget involved significant additional taxation on some of the more wealthy sections of society but it was very nicely balanced. The Minister said it was almost a neo-liberal budget because there were surpluses and so on. Are there some other positives surprises we may be able to take from the kitty in the years to come?