Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The policy issues which are raised in these amendments are of a wider scope and scheme than the substance of the Bill and the stability treaty. Deputy Doherty has identified some of the issues that any Government would have to consider in preparing a correction or budgetary plan. However, it should be noted that we are talking about a plan and not the actual detailed legislative budgetary proposals that will have to be brought before the Oireachtas in the normal manner.

A key requirement of the stability treaty is the automatic triggering of a mechanism to correct budget deviations from our medium term budgetary objective or the adjustment path towards it. Section 6, which was drafted on the basis of the common principles as required by the treaty, meets this requirement. While the Government and, I am sure, future governments, will always seek to promote economic growth, job creation and the delivery of high quality public services, it is highly likely that deployment of a correction plan could result in unpalatable choices that may not be in compliance with the suggested amendments, at least in the short term. Sustainable public finances are a key element of sustainable economic growth. Giving priority to economic growth, job creation and delivery could prove to be an obstacle or a limitation on a government's choice of actions, which are needed to ensure sustainable public finances. In working to ensure the sustainability of public finances any government should have all possible policy levers available to it.

Deputy Doherty also seeks to introduce assessment requirements in relation to equality, social inclusion and anti-poverty impacts into the preparation of a correction plan. Such social and economic assessments are subjective and there is a huge difficulty in putting subjective matters into a legislative framework. Additionally, each budget day the Government publishes illustrative cases showing the affect of major changes in revenue and certain social welfare payments on different categories of married-civil partners and single income earners.

With regard to the requirement for Oireachtas approval before adoption of the plan, amendments that would result in the contravention of our treaty obligations cannot be accepted. The stability treaty requires the triggering of a correction mechanism if there is a significant deviation from the medium term objective or adjustment path towards it.

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