Marc Ó Cathasaigh (Waterford, Green Party)
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As a very last point, as I understand it, EU fiscal rules are currently suspended but we are applying our own fiscal spending rules, which was that 6.1%. People in the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform will be able to confirm this. Deputy Munster asked some questions around the ideas that the Department was trying to put forward. Was it the case that the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science went to the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform with some nice ideas, and was told, "Computer said no"? I know that is the dynamic in every budget and it is the job of the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform to say "No". However, did the witnesses' Department say that it could spend the NTF in a bunch of nice ways, and here are some ideas, only to be told that it is not compliant with national fiscal spending rules?