Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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I thank Mr. Barnes for his presentation. The information we get from the council and its submissions are always helpful.

I see the council is calling for legislative reform. I ask this just out of curiosity, but is the council overstepping its mandate as laid down in law by calling for changes to legislation in relation to what the Parliament is doing? There are very clear responsibilities around the EU fiscal rules, compliance and making assessments, but are we straying beyond those. I am not suggesting it should not happen but wanted to make that point. There has been a marked change, if I may say so. When we have been dealing with the IFAC in the past, there has been a clear buffer where something is said to be an issue of policy and not for the council. Now there seems to be more willingness to engage on policy options, especially around pensions, as well as some other issues. On legislative reform, will Mr. Barnes outline whether that strays beyond the council's mandate?

In this context what are the increased responsibilities and tasks? The legislation is very clear that the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council must fulfil all tasks imposed on it, including the tasks imposed by the European Commission through these rules. What will this mean to the expansion of the mandate?