Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I do not think the Deputy is decrying the fact we made more progress than we expected. The economic situation improved more than we prudently forecast in the stability programme update. We did not issue a spring economic statement before this year. We issued a stability programme update, which is a different animal. The update is a technical set of documents prepared for the European Commission in accordance with the Stability and Growth Pact. These updates are prepared annually and, while they are managed by the Minister for Finance, I understand they were subject to cursory debate. This year we presented a more robust analysis to the House and the nation. That is a new departure in terms of how we prepare economic policy, and as we emerge from our difficult years, it will be a useful exercise in preparing for the budget in October. It is preferable to the old approach whereby the Minister for Finance kept everything as a great secret until the budget was announced.

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