Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome what the Minister of State said. To be clear for Deputy Doherty and everyone else, when I table an amendment I do not know whether the Government will accept it. My party and I seek, sometimes through negotiation and sometimes through our work in Parliament, to get things done. This scheme was announced in July 2016 and lasts for 3.5 years, or 42 months. We are now in the 17th month of the scheme and will be half way through it in March 2018. Indecon recommends a comprehensive cost-benefit analysis but is not prescriptive as to when, but it is reasonable to do one half way through the scheme as there is not much point in doing it when it is all over, apart from what one may learn from the experience. If it is to have an input into policy it needs to be done in a timely fashion. Can the Minister of State elaborate on the commitment he gave? He said it would be 2018 but when will it be done? Will he commit to publishing it and will it be available before the budget next October?

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