Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

If it were not so serious one would laugh. The Minister was one of the architects of the rules and the first time they apply to this country is now, and we are over with the begging bowl asking to get rid of some rules that are simply not sensible. I agree with the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council's report that there is an anomaly in the rules and they need to be changed. It is not only the rules that must be considered as other issues must be taken into account such as the calculation of structural deficits and structural surpluses that will cause problems in the future. There is suspicion that this is happening as a result of it being an election year, that the Government has implemented all of the austerity rules and policies but given the impending election and the fact that it has committed to reducing the income tax rate for top earners, under the current rules the expenditure benchmark would not allow that to happen, and that the measure is very much geared towards election commitments.

The Minister said the matter must be agreed by committees in Europe. Is it expected that we will have a decision before the April statement?

If it is not expected, does the Minister expect to base the April statement on what he is seeking from Europe, which is the revised expenditure benchmark rate?

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