Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)

For the past two weeks or thereabouts, the Government has offered briefings to the finance spokespersons of the Opposition parties in respect of budgetary matters. These briefings have been represented as the Government opening the books to the Opposition. It is fair to say that what the opening of the books to the Opposition has amounted to is three meetings in the Department of Finance. The first of those meetings related to the process involved and to seeking undertakings that the confidentiality, etc., of the information being provided would be respected. The content of the second meeting could be summarised by the three-page document which was given to the finance spokespersons and which contains lists of tables. At the third meeting, which was held yesterday, the spokespersons were presented with a folder of information, most of which was already in the public domain as a result of replies given to parliamentary questions.

There is key information which we have not been given. We have not been given the definitive growth forecast for next year, nor have we been given the detailed macro-economic growth forecast for the next four years. The latter would include forecasts and projections relating to consumption, investment, interest rates, wages, exports, imports and unemployment. We have also not been given the proposed adjustment for next year, not have we been given a template for the four-year plan, final information on how the cost of the bank bailout is to be treated in the Government accounts or details on the proposed savings to be made on foot of the Croke Park agreement.

The House is due to take statements on the macro-economic and fiscal outlook. It will be difficult to debate such a matter in the absence of the information to which I refer. The Taoiseach just informed Deputy Kenny that the Government has decided that the total adjustment for the next four years will be €15 billion. Did the Cabinet have access to the information to which I refer when it made its decision?

See this speech in context