Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Deputies for contributing to the debate and facilitating the approval of the Revised Estimates for the public services. It is important to note that the output statements are a major step forward. The OECD recognised that last year in its report on the Irish public service which commended the output statements as the right way forward for performance-based budgeting in Ireland. The OECD noted in particular that Ireland was on a sound trajectory of modernisation in that regard. I am glad to see that endorsement but I am open to suggestions from the Opposition parties about how we can improve the exercise of deliberative choice in the whole area of expenditure. As the reports of the Commission on Taxation and the special group on public expenditure numbers become available I will examine the working papers of these reports to establish whether they can be made available so that we can have as informed a debate as possible about how to tackle the crisis we face.

In my official script this evening the line is inserted - "I think we all agree about the magnitude of the task facing us in rebalancing the public finances." After listening to this debate I am not sure that we do all agree about the magnitude of that task. Not a single speaker opposite mentioned it, although I accept that they have mentioned it on occasion. In this debate on the Revised Estimates, however, I do not think we agree about the magnitude of the task facing us in rebalancing the public finances. Deputy Morgan, and occasionally Deputy Burton, consistently confuse the banking crisis with the public finance crisis.

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