Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for his reply. The information he provided confirms what we are seeing throughout the country and in every lending institution. There is a dramatic increase in savings happening at this time. Earlier in the year, I read that €1 in every €3 earned was being saved, compared with a more usual savings rate of €1 in every €6 or €7. That dramatic increase is also happening in the case of State bonds.

The Minister made the apt point that if one is saving with a traditional lending institution, one is probably losing money because of the fees one is paying, the very low interest rates and inflation. The State offering is far more attractive. The reason I asked for this information is that there is a series of questions we need to ask ourselves as we look to next year and consider what will happen to these savings and all this pent-up demand. The first question is what it will mean for inflation when all this money is released into the economy. What happens if that pent-up demand in savings cannot be released into the local economy because of continuing restrictions? What might be the impact of those private savings being released into the economy at the same time as we see a massive increase in public spending? What will all of this mean for the economy in peaks and troughs and negative impacts such as inflation and everything else that comes with it?

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