Results 10,701-10,720 of 16,492 for speaker:Ciarán Lynch

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Macroeconomic Forecasting: Discussion with Department of Finance (8 Oct 2013)

Ciarán Lynch: We are almost starting from a stopped position.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Macroeconomic Forecasting: Discussion with Department of Finance (8 Oct 2013)

Ciarán Lynch: Is that the real economy to which we refer?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Macroeconomic Forecasting: Discussion with Department of Finance (8 Oct 2013)

Ciarán Lynch: I am afraid the Deputy is over time.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Macroeconomic Forecasting: Discussion with Department of Finance (8 Oct 2013)

Ciarán Lynch: I call Deputy O'Donnell who has ten minutes.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Macroeconomic Forecasting: Discussion with Department of Finance (8 Oct 2013)

Ciarán Lynch: When I say ten minutes, I mean that his session ends in ten minutes. Therefore, the last question cannot be asked at nine minutes and 59 seconds.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Macroeconomic Forecasting: Discussion with Department of Finance (8 Oct 2013)

Ciarán Lynch: In layperson's terms, what people are focusing on this evening is drop of 1% in the predicted figure for next year's unemployment. As I mentioned, that is 2.5% below what the ERSI predicted a number of years ago. Where will those estimates come from? In which sectors will we see that increase?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Macroeconomic Forecasting: Discussion with Department of Finance (8 Oct 2013)

Ciarán Lynch: In what sectors or occupational fields will employment be created?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Macroeconomic Forecasting: Discussion with Department of Finance (8 Oct 2013)

Ciarán Lynch: I want to move on. There is a strong difference between the services we provide and what we export. Exports are dropping because of the patent situation. My constituency and Deputy McGrath's constituency of Cork South Central are in the area in question. I am noting that some goods coming off patent, particularly in generic areas, are being manufactured by the same people who held the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Macroeconomic Forecasting: Discussion with Department of Finance (8 Oct 2013)

Ciarán Lynch: I have two final questions before I run out of time. First, what is this year's growth figure?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Macroeconomic Forecasting: Discussion with Department of Finance (8 Oct 2013)

Ciarán Lynch: I refer the committee to the slide on stabilisation and core retail sales. The graph shows a positive trend. The retail sector employs perhaps 250,000 people in the domestic economy and, although we are hearing a lot of external positivity, the main concern is growth in the domestic economy. What are the growth figures in retail? What products or services have those been in? Is it white...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Macroeconomic Forecasting: Discussion with Department of Finance (8 Oct 2013)

Ciarán Lynch: I do not wish to make the witnesses give a tight prediction, but the fact that the beginning of the budget cycle has moved to October has a significant impact on the retail cycle and there is an expectation that consumer sentiment and confidence will grow after the budget, given that we are going into the final quarter which takes us to Christmas, always the best quarter for retail. Is there...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Macroeconomic Forecasting: Discussion with Department of Finance (8 Oct 2013)

Ciarán Lynch: The sector has been lobbying this House for a number of years to move the budget cycle to earlier in the year so that the Christmas sales period is elongated and it is not just something that happens quickly after the budget, after which Christmas arrives and they go into the sales period.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Macroeconomic Forecasting: Discussion with Department of Finance (8 Oct 2013)

Ciarán Lynch: I thank the witnesses. While the committee may have had some reservations regarding the timing of the presentation, I believe the content is very detailed, and other members may be of the same view. The ESRI uses the HERMES models, but I would like to hear what models the Department uses. The ESRI was predicting an unemployment rate of 16% for 2014 about three years ago. That is not the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Macroeconomic Forecasting: Discussion with Department of Finance (8 Oct 2013)

Ciarán Lynch: Can Ms Dalton give us the full titles instead of abbreviations like PMI?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Macroeconomic Forecasting: Discussion with Department of Finance (8 Oct 2013)

Ciarán Lynch: I am conscious this is being broadcast live and people are watching. What do you mean by the patent cliff? Are these patents expiring?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Macroeconomic Forecasting: Discussion with Department of Finance (8 Oct 2013)

Ciarán Lynch: To use layman's language.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Macroeconomic Forecasting: Discussion with Department of Finance (8 Oct 2013)

Ciarán Lynch: I ask the witnesses to go through the presentation while committee members take notes because otherwise we will end up with no sequence or co-ordination to the meeting.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Macroeconomic Forecasting: Discussion with Department of Finance (8 Oct 2013)

Ciarán Lynch: I will take that as a compliment. We will now discuss matters relating to macroeconomic forecasts with the officials from the Department of Finance. I welcome Mr. John McCarthy, Ms Mary Dalton, Mr. Shane Enright and Mr. Gavin Sweeney. Mr. McCarthy will make opening remarks with a PowerPoint presentation which will be followed by a questions and answers session. I remind members, witnesses...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Macroeconomic Forecasting: Discussion with Department of Finance (8 Oct 2013)

Ciarán Lynch: No. Drive on.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Macroeconomic Forecasting: Discussion with Department of Finance (8 Oct 2013)

Ciarán Lynch: The Department.