Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

I was asked for the advice of the NTMA and I am giving it. A credible pathway must be demonstrated and that is why it is essential if we are to achieve a target by 2014 that we set out in detail in taxation, expenditure and growth plans how we will meet that target by 2014. On the growth side, whatever estimate we make, it must be realistic and based on existing sectors, while including decisions that will be arrived at by Government in the different sectors of the economy that will stimulate their growth and remove blockages to growth. Allowing for a general calculation on growth and allowing for the 3% we will be permitted to borrow in 2014, the remainder of that sum must be addressed either through increases in tax or reductions in expenditure. The four year plan must set out precisely where those reductions in expenditure can be identified. It is important they are identified so consumers and investors can decide with certainty what their disposable income will be in that period.

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