Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The ESRI has doubled its projection for the year to 8.9% of GDP. Has the Government considered exactly what the impact will be on the deficit projected for the year? Presumably, it will close it. Has the Government considered the impact on the fiscal space? Overspending in the HSE to the end of June was projected to be at a figure of €300 million. It is now projected that it will be somewhere between €750 million and €1.1 billion by the end of the year.

This is a current-year budgetary item. How is this money to be found?

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