Tommy Broughan (Dublin Bay North, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Does the Taoiseach intend to bring in legislation this year on the so-called rainy day fund? There is nothing indicated on the clár and, as he is aware, the Department of Finance is talking about diverting €1.5 billion from the Strategic Investment Fund and €0.5 billion a year from people's taxation, to which the Taoiseach referred earlier, into such a fund from 2019. We heard earlier from the leader of Fianna Fáil about the huge gap that we know exists in the health budget for 2018. We have the ongoing disaster in housing and we have a very large national debt, one of the highest in the OECD. Already, €14 billion or €15 billion has been set aside by the NTMA for the genesis of a future wealth fund. Is that something we should be talking about at all? As I put to the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, last week, using one of his own favourite words, is it not bonkers to be talking about a rainy day fund when it is raining already for many of our citizens?

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