Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)

The Minister for Finance indicated in his budget speech that he was commissioning a report from Mr. Maurice O'Connell with regard to the National Pensions Reserve Fund. He advised me by way of a parliamentary question that he had the report and the question of the contribution of the 1% to the National Pensions Reserve Fund is a matter which the Government is still thinking about. Any change in this would require legislation. If I understood her correctly, the Tánaiste herself said that it was likely that the Dáil would be recalled early after Christmas to effect legislation on the National Pensions Reserve Fund and the recapitalisation of the banks. Will the Tánaiste indicate if she proposes to bring in legislation relating to the 1% transfer?

I feel sorry for the Tánaiste but sorrier for the country as we have just got a figure indicating that gross national product has declined by 4.9% in the third quarter.

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