Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)

There were a number of questions in Deputy McDonald's contribution. The target for next year is to reach a deficit of 7.5% of GDP. The quantum of money required to get to that is not defined. An estimate was published in the last fiscal review, but that needs to be refined because it takes into account inflation and growth, which are constantly under review, as well as external factors. In my earlier reply I invited the Deputy to involve herself in the detail with line Ministers across each Department, who have all the data with regard to the reduction required to meet the fiscal targets we have set and achieve a deficit of less than 3% of GDP by 2015. The Comprehensive Review of Expenditure contains all the measures that might contribute to that, some of which the Deputy may agree with but most of which she will not. We should engage in a democratic debate on these matters so that people's opinions at a political level are understood.

The Minister for Finance, Deputy Noonan, logically made the point during the course of the referendum debate that the freedom we have to spend reserves such as the National Pensions Reserve Fund for stimulus purposes, which is our stated intention, in addition to other stimulus measures - I will deal with that in a separate question - would have been significantly affected had the people chosen to reject the stability treaty, because our chances of returning to the markets would have been damaged and we would have been required to hold on to as much money as we could to pay for day-to-day public expenditure. That is clearly what the Minister was saying.

With regard to the EU semester, there was a proposal in the two-pack to bring forward the budgetary process and align it across the European Union. The most recent discussions within the budgetary committee in Brussels have indicated that it is unlikely, in my judgment, to be agreed this year.

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