Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I was at the dialogue yesterday. It was an extremely worthwhile exercise. The various partners and stakeholders attended and all contributed in a very positive and constructive way. It has been an extremely useful exercise over the past two days with huge participation by all the stakeholders. I have no doubt interesting initiatives and recommendations will arise from that discussion. I chaired a session discussing productivity and competition in the Irish economy. It was very relevant and useful in dealing with issues to support enterprises in this country. I have no doubt a number of initiatives will emerge from that discussion.

It is too early to speculate about the upcoming budget. We have committed to a 2:1 split in the programme, as the Deputy knows. I can assure the House that it will be a fair budget and one that helps people in every part of Ireland. As the Taoiseach said yesterday, we should focus on the totality of expenditure and taxation and examine existing spending programmes as well.

Of course, it also has to be a budget that prepares us for Brexit and ensures our competitiveness is at the heart of everything we do. We now have hard data since the Brexit referendum that shows the immediate impact from Brexit has been more muted than initially anticipated. This is consistent with trends emerging in the US and the euro area. We welcome those improvements in the euro area which will be positive for us, although the UK growth has slowed in the first quarter of 2017. We know the Irish economy is particularly exposed because of the decision in the UK. The Minister for Finance will address the Deputy's points about the statement and giving the information to the Committee on Budgetary Oversight. I have no doubt that will take place in the coming weeks.

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