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

I wish to acknowledge the tremendous work of the Committee on Budgetary Oversight. In the previous Dáil, I was a member of the committee and really enjoyed that role. It is a great opportunity to get one's teeth into various issues. I also commend the work of the Parliamentary Budget Office. The quality of material it produces for all Members is very high and that should be acknowledged. If there are any issues around resources and so on, I am sure that is a matter for the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission. However, great strides have been made. It was a very important reform for Deputies across the House to have access to that resource.

This was my first budget and I learned a lot. On coming into office, I was immediately into the process of almost a mini-budget in the form of the July stimulus process. I genuinely want to work with the Deputy and other members of the committee to improve budgetary performance and introduce performance and equality budgeting, as well as working with them on the outcome of the spending review process in which my Department is continuously engaged.

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