Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 3 May 2023

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach

Examination of EU Fiscal Rules: TASC

Photo of Bernard DurkanBernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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We will not go into that debate. I have my own views on it. I remember having that debate in Britain in 1988. Luxembourg was top of the league in terms of wealth at that time, followed by the Netherlands and a couple of other countries like that. The European Free Trade Association, EFTA, countries were also high in the rankings at that time. Things have changed since. That is right. We have caught up. We were not as elevated as we thought we were. However, I am still worried about the rapidity with which things can happen. As I see it, the situation as regards world banking is undergoing a bit of hiccup now and, as we know from the past, those hiccups can resound fairly heavily insofar as we are concerned. We would not want a food shortage and fiscal restrictions all at the same time.