Terence Flanagan (Dublin North East, Independent)
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48. To ask the Minister for Finance the forecasting that his Department carries out; the future period this covers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26511/14]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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Up until recently, the forecasting period covered in the Budget and Stability Programme included the current year, and at least three future years, for example 2014 - 2017. Under the new European fiscal framework, Ireland is required to provide forecasts in the Budget and the Stability Programme for a period until the medium-term budgetary objective (also known as MTO) is achieved, which in Ireland's case is estimated to be 2018. In order to provide economic and strategic guidance over a longer term period, my Department published the Medium Term Economic Strategy last December. This provided projections out to 2020 for the first time, to give a focus for the future direction of the Irish state.