Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I have a few questions. One question is on the forecast horizon. As was correctly pointed out, until relatively recently the forecast horizon was five years. It is now three years on the fiscal side. I would have a concern that we have not got a proper handle on the costs that are coming down the line, when one looks at what is happening in healthcare with the cost of drugs, the ageing population, conditions such as Alzheimer's, etc., that are growing very significantly; pension costs; and costs in the education sector. To what extent would the witnesses have a concern that we are projecting our revenue, some of which is volatile, for the next three years, including corporation tax receipts? We are building up permanent expenditure commitments and we do not have medium-term to long-term estimates of the costs that we are going to be facing as a country. On that question of three years versus five years, is five years enough? How quickly do we need to start publishing five year forecasts?