Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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133. To ask the Minister for Finance the impact of the issue the financial contractual obligations to consultants being honoured operating under the 2008 consultants' contract will have in Budget 2019; and if these moneys are factored into the base when calculating available fiscal space. [37171/18]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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I can advise the Deputy that the settlement results in a payment of €31 million in relation to 2018 and an annual ongoing cost of €62 million from 1 January 2019.

Therefore the incremental cost in 2019 is the increase of €31 million, €62 million minus €31 million, in 2019 over 2018.

There is no effect thereafter as it will be in the expenditure base.

As I stated in the Summer Economic Statement, as the economy approaches full employment fiscal space is increasingly an inappropriate concept. The Government will instead focus on maintaining a sensible fiscal stance to ensure steady and sustainable improvements in living standards.