Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)

The programme for Government includes a commitment by the Government to introduce within 100 days a budget that will give effect to a range of measures, some of which are outlined in the programme for Government. Given that the commitment of the Government is to stay within the financial parameters that were laid down by the previous Government to year-end, is it the intention in the finance Bill that will give effect to those measures, to offset those measures in the mini-budget in June or will the offsetting be deferred until December?

I raise the matter because as we all know the domestic economy is completely flat-lined. There are many people without two pennies to rub together but the people who have money are afraid to spend it. We could not get the answer from the Minister for Finance. Will the legislation to give effect to the mini-budget just relate to the programme for Government commitments or will the off-setting which the Minister for Finance has said is necessary happen in June or in December during the normal annual budgetary process. The offsetting of those measures between now and 2013 is at least to the tune of €1.5 billion. There is a need to explain matters to the House today to give confidence to people that there will not be a mini-budget in June which will dig deeper into the pockets of ordinary spenders.

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