Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
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I will go back to the charge of fiscal gimmickry and the misclassification of non-core spending. The figure of €4 billion for the classification non-core spending is absolutely a case of fiscal gimmickry. We sometimes lose sight of the significance of the scale of what we are talking about here. I am old enough to remember a point in time, eight, nine or ten years ago, when €4 billion was the extent of what we are generating in corporation tax. It is absolutely bizarre. I recall how at that time, which was when I was a Government Minister, I was quite proud that we happened to generate €4 billion in corporation tax. At the time, that was not insignificant, but look at where it is now. Is the Government listening to IFAC’s advice on the presentation of spending plans?