Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 31 January 2018

Committee on Budgetary Oversight

Proposal to Establish a Rainy Day Fund: Minister for Finance

1:30 pm

Photo of Paschal DonohoePaschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy is correct regarding that particular event but I do not believe investment in precautionary measures would offset the need for a reserve fund in the future. That is for two reasons. The first is the variety of different events that might require use of a contingency fund. In the papers I referred to a natural phenomenon. For example, what would happen if we had another episode of foot and mouth disease here? That is something a lot of effort and focus goes into seeking to prevent happening but it could well happen. If a natural phenomenon like that happened which we were unsuccessful in preventing-----