Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

The commitments made in the programme for Government stand on the basis of the overall macro-economic stance the Government is taking. It is important to point out that yesterday's results are in line with expectations and profile. By the end of the year we hope to come in within the limits we set ourselves, as has been the case in the past. There will not be windfall gains which have been directed at debt reduction in the past, but it is important to point out that even in regard to stamp duty, for example, about which there has been some discussion and speculation, from a very high base last year, the figure is up by 5.5% in the first six months of this year, although we had hoped it would increase by 10%. It is important that we should be careful not to overreact to the current easing from the very high levels of activity seen in the past. The preliminary figures in the CSO first quarter report which was published yesterday also but did not receive widespread publication show that the first quarter growth figure is 7.5%.

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