Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)

I hope that when there is the opportunity to do so, the Tánaiste's welcome for relevant debates in the House will stretch to entertaining Opposition proposals for such debates and that he is not just citing scripture when it suits him.

Everyone is concerned about the worrying international trends in recent days and weeks. In the light of this, will the Tánaiste revise any of his pre-budget forecasts in respect of the economy? Will we know this before budget day because, obviously, it will be of importance in framing the appropriate budget we should have?

My second question relates to the statement issued yesterday by the Data Protection Commissioner that he has serious doubts about the quality of data security measures in Irish public bodies. This comes after the huge security breach in the United Kingdom. Will the Tánaiste look at the existing legislative framework to ensure there will be tighter auditing and reportage of standards in order that we can have an assurance that there will not be such a breach in Ireland?

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