Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I appreciate that the figures the Deputy quoted come from an independent source, but I am not sure if they stack up, because 0.9% of GDP is roughly €3 billion. Everyone knows that the budget package was €11 billion and we did other things last year long before the budget, so I think those figures require further examination. The Deputy is right that Dáil is going into recess for a month. I guarantee him that the Government will not be going into recess for a month. The Government will probably take a one-week break. We will have a Cabinet meeting Christmas week and one in the first week of the new year. The Government will work during that month. We will allow people to take a few days off to spend some time with their families, perhaps five working days, but I can guarantee the Deputy that the Government will meet through the recess, including in Christmas week-----

See this speech in context