Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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I am last on the first round. I thank the Minister and his officials for coming in. I am mindful of the fact that a number of my colleagues on this committee from Opposition parties have highlighted the fact that they have been calling for this measure for some time. If one was to be cynical, one could argue that members of the largest Opposition parties would be very keen to see the Government and Minister for Finance lock away much of the money we are earning from our prudent fiscal approach and save it for them to spend when they get into power. Perhaps that is what they are thinking. However, it makes sense to have a contingency reserve. Really what we are talking about here is the process - what it would look like and how it would play out. Will the Minister outline the kind of events he could see triggering the use of a rainy day fund in practical terms? I know there has been upset at some of the examples which have been given. How would this look to people?

On the funding beyond 2021, it obviously becomes harder to predict what these things will look like the further into the future one looks. This is a medium-term approach, however, so I presume that the Department would have a view on how it could continue. Would it continue at the same rate or does the Minister believe it would need to be ramped up in the future as budgets allow? That would be my main point. The Minister has already outlined that the purpose of this proposal is to provide a bit of extra security and a buffer for things as they arise. It is hard to plan for every eventuality but I would like to get a clear idea of the type of circumstances in which he sees the need for this arising and the type of circumstances for which he would not see this fund being used.