Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

This is the first time a Government has made, six months in advance of a budget, its best effort to provide the economic framework for budgetary decisions with extensive supporting documentation. We previously submitted stability programme updates to Brussels after fairly cursory debates, but the spring economic statement is a new departure. The Deputy is correct that forecasts for demographic pressures in health do not take account of any new services or drugs that might be needed, some of which may be expensive. This is why, in general terms, we publish the spring economic statement on a no policy basis. Real-time decisions will be made by Governments based on the fiscal space available to them in compliance with the Stability and Growth Pact and on the divide between expenditure and tax. These decisions will have to be made yearly. Despite these caveats, I consider it a good exposition of where we think the economy is currently placed, the fiscal space available to us next year and our intentions in respect of the divide between tax reductions and further public expenditure. Decisions on these areas will, of course, be refined at budget time.

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