Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

This is something I and the Minister for Finance are considering at the moment. With regard to the charge, if that had been made, about the presentation of the budget and the policy content of it, we are one of a small group of countries in the European Union that has a surplus. Budget policy has evidently not contributed to the growth of inflation in our economy. The rate of expenditure growth in our economy in recent years has been either in line with or, in many cases, significantly below the rate of inflation our economy also experienced over those years. I am very happy to make the case that we have tried to and been successful in managing our economic policy in a responsible way when trying to lay the foundations for safety in the future while dealing with the issues of today. I take the Deputy's core assertion that we have to look at how we present budget 2025 in a way that is different from how we have used some of the instruments in recent years.

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