Results 641-660 of 1,172,066 for in 'Dáil debates' OR in 'Committee meetings' (speaker:Tom Kitt OR speaker:Josepha Madigan OR speaker:Ruairi Ó Murchú OR speaker:Seán Canney OR speaker:John Lahart OR speaker:Marc Ó Cathasaigh OR speaker:Marc MacSharry OR speaker:Michael McGrath OR speaker:Ivana Bacik OR speaker:Cathal Crowe OR speaker:Michael Ring OR speaker:Seán Ó Fearghaíl OR speaker:Patricia Ryan OR speaker:Colm Brophy OR speaker:James Browne OR speaker:Holly Cairns OR speaker:Michael Creed OR speaker:David Cullinane OR speaker:Catherine Martin OR speaker:Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire OR speaker:Pa Daly OR speaker:Richard Boyd Barrett OR speaker:Mark Ward OR speaker:Bernard Durkan OR speaker:Paschal Donohoe OR speaker:Pat Buckley OR speaker:Seán Crowe OR speaker:Johnny Mythen OR speaker:Aindrias Moynihan OR speaker:Michael Collins OR speaker:Aengus Ó Snodaigh OR speaker:Seán Fleming OR speaker:Jim O'Callaghan OR speaker:Thomas Gould OR speaker:Rose Conway-Walsh OR speaker:Colm Burke OR speaker:Brendan Griffin OR speaker:Catherine Murphy)
- Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Ireland's Medium-Term Fiscal and Structural Plan: Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (23 Oct 2024)
Aindrias Moynihan: This evening's engagement is with representatives of the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council. On behalf of the committee, I welcome Mr. Seamus Coffey, chairman of the council, and Dr. Eddie Casey, chief economist. It is always great to have them here. We are looking forward to a discussion on the EU's fiscal rules and the State's medium-term fiscal and structural plan, which was published last...
- Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Ireland's Medium-Term Fiscal and Structural Plan: Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (23 Oct 2024)
Aindrias Moynihan: As a vote has been called in the Dáil, I propose that we suspend until it has concluded.
- Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Ireland's Medium-Term Fiscal and Structural Plan: Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (23 Oct 2024)
Aindrias Moynihan: 2 o’clock I thank Mr. Coffey for his opening statement. I open the floor, following the normal rota, and call Deputy Conway-Walsh.
- Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Ireland's Medium-Term Fiscal and Structural Plan: Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (23 Oct 2024)
Rose Conway-Walsh: Apologies for the vote. My first question refers to an endorsement IFAC provided for the economic projections which were released alongside budget 2025. In the letter of endorsement on the macroeconomic projections, IFAC stated that one of the three elements of the basis for its approach is a review of the Department's past forecasts to look for errors and systematic bias. Is it fair to...
- Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Ireland's Medium-Term Fiscal and Structural Plan: Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (23 Oct 2024)
Rose Conway-Walsh: Maybe IFAC could let us have that. How many times has it overestimated? It should be fairly easy to see in GNI*. It is important for us to see the patterns that are there. IFAC endorsed the macroeconomic projection we received on budget day. Apart from the element I outlined, it also looked at the comparisons on the benchmark projections and forecasts from other bodies. IFAC said that...
- Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Ireland's Medium-Term Fiscal and Structural Plan: Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (23 Oct 2024)
Rose Conway-Walsh: Okay. Do the witnesses think the inclusion of BEPS pillar 1 kicking in in 2026 is a credible expectation?
- Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Ireland's Medium-Term Fiscal and Structural Plan: Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (23 Oct 2024)
Rose Conway-Walsh: Why?
- Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Ireland's Medium-Term Fiscal and Structural Plan: Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (23 Oct 2024)
Rose Conway-Walsh: Does IFAC have any oversight of the multiplier that is used by the Department for current and capital expenditure?
- Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Ireland's Medium-Term Fiscal and Structural Plan: Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (23 Oct 2024)
Rose Conway-Walsh: I refer to the multiplier that is used which means that if we put X in, we get Y out.
- Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Ireland's Medium-Term Fiscal and Structural Plan: Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (23 Oct 2024)
Rose Conway-Walsh: Does IFAC have any impact on the multiplier that is used by the Department? It is difficult to tell. There are lots of moving parts.
- Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Ireland's Medium-Term Fiscal and Structural Plan: Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (23 Oct 2024)
Rose Conway-Walsh: It might be something worth looking into in terms of the transparency of future estimates. Does IFAC assess the level of public expenditure based on the share of the real economy, which is obviously GNI*? From my own estimates, when I compare either net expenditure or general Government expenditure, it shows we are spending less today than we were in 2019, the year before the current...
- Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Ireland's Medium-Term Fiscal and Structural Plan: Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (23 Oct 2024)
Rose Conway-Walsh: It is also necessary, though, to look at inflation. We never signed up to the restrictive Fine Gael 5% spending rule. I believe we have been proven right in relation to inflation. Of the three examples that IFAC gave us in its submission, namely, the Netherlands, Finland and Sweden, the first two specifically take inflation into account and look at the increases in spending in real terms....
- Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Ireland's Medium-Term Fiscal and Structural Plan: Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (23 Oct 2024)
Rose Conway-Walsh: It is less today than it was in 2019 in terms of spending. It is a kind of contradiction in one sense. The concern is that all this highlights some of the risks associated with legislating for the spending rules.
- Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Ireland's Medium-Term Fiscal and Structural Plan: Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (23 Oct 2024)
Rose Conway-Walsh: No, exactly. What we are trying to get at here, however, is to be fiscally responsible but still have enough flexibility to be able to adapt to and respond to external changes that occur. It is about the balance rather than about tying ourselves into something if we were to legislate for the rule.
- Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Ireland's Medium-Term Fiscal and Structural Plan: Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (23 Oct 2024)
Rose Conway-Walsh: I thank Dr. Casey for that. The EU fiscal rules state that the medium-term fiscal plans will commit member states to an agreed net expenditure path for a five-year period. The plan will subsequently be endorsed by the Council of the European Union. It is stated that once endorsed by the European Council, it is generally not possible to deviate from the agreed net expenditure path unless...
- Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Ireland's Medium-Term Fiscal and Structural Plan: Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (23 Oct 2024)
Rose Conway-Walsh: It is trying to stop it.
- Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Ireland's Medium-Term Fiscal and Structural Plan: Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (23 Oct 2024)
Rose Conway-Walsh: Yes. I think this is crucially important because we are adding an additional national restriction to an economic decision of a democratically-elected government. I think this is extremely serious. IFAC's submission refers to it having an enforcement role in regard to the EU fiscal rules. Will the witnesses expand on this statement? I refer to what IFAC having an additional enforcement...
- Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Ireland's Medium-Term Fiscal and Structural Plan: Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (23 Oct 2024)
Rose Conway-Walsh: What about the decision of the democratically elected Government? I really have concerns about this.
- Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Ireland's Medium-Term Fiscal and Structural Plan: Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (23 Oct 2024)
Rose Conway-Walsh: Five years is a long time in politics.
- Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Ireland's Medium-Term Fiscal and Structural Plan: Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (23 Oct 2024)
Aindrias Moynihan: We will move on. I will give Deputies a chance to come back in again later.