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

I acknowledge the level of the national debt. I also acknowledge the most important measure is its size relative to the size of the economy. Thankfully the national debt is falling relative to the size of the economy. I also acknowledge that we are at a time of very low interest rates which certainly will not continue indefinitely. Therefore the cost of servicing the national debt could well rise over time.

When it comes to how we measure capital investment relative to the fiscal rules, the smoothing effect under the European Union rules, spreading it out over four years, is not adequate. Companies that make investments do not account for it just over a four-year period. If we make an investment in infrastructure we derive the benefits from that investment over a longer period of time. The Government should raise that issue with the European Commission to account more properly for capital investment and to match how we account for it with how the economy benefits from that investment.

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