Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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82. To ask the Minister for Finance the person coordinating the publication of the State's forthcoming economic update; if the scope of the report has changed substantially from what was originally envisaged; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52429/13]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I presume the Deputy is referring to the Medium-Term Economic Strategy (MTES), which is due to be published this month. The formulation of the MTES is being jointly led by my Department, in conjunction with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, but the Strategy is a whole-of-Government initiative. Consequently, its production is not being coordinated by any one individual, but by a high-level group comprising of officials from the two Departments, the Department of Taoiseach, the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation and Forfás. In addition, a wider group of officials has been established to coordinate with other Government Departments regarding the sectors of the economy which come under their aegis.

While all such documents naturally evolve during development, the scope of the MTES has not changed substantially from what was originally envisaged. The Strategy will provide a framework to underpin a range of policy efforts in a manner that provides financial market stability and also underpins consumer and business confidence for investment. By providing certainty and confidence that the mistakes of the past will not be repeated, the Strategy will support economic growth and, in so doing, help us to tackle our budgetary and unemployment problems and enable an improvement in the living standards of Irish citizens.