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Josepha's scrutiny role to Brexit-proof Budget

Solicitor, FG TD for Dublin Rathdown, and chair of the Committee on Budgetary Oversight Josepha Madigan said the group was set up to improve the level of engagement with parliament on budget decisions.

"The job of the Committee will be to examine the foundations on which the forthcoming budget is being built and where evidence points to specific courses of action, the Committee can make recommendations to the Minister for Finance and Public Expenditure and Reform.

"We will meet with IBEC, the group that represents Irish business, to discuss its priorities for Budget 2018.

"We will be particularly interested in considering IBEC’s key proposals for Budget 2018 which includes using additional fiscal space to increase investment, brexit-proofing the Budget, focusing on creating a high-skilled economy, defending Ireland’s foreign direct investment model and investing infrastructure to make sure Ireland maintains its competitive edge.

"We are also interested in discussing the tourism VAT rate and the budgetary impact of climate change.

Challenges

While the economic situation has improved, businesses still face challenges and concerns, in particular the potential impact of Brexit. The Committee welcomes this opportunity to get the views of Irish business on what they see as the key budget priorities as we continue our deliberations on the measures to be put forward for Budget 2018."

International experience shows that in a democracy, policy-making is improved when parliament has an enhanced role in budget scrutiny.

“The job of the Committee will be to examine the foundations on which the forthcoming budget is being built and where evidence points to specific courses of action, the Committee can make recommendations to the Minister for Finance and Public Expenditure and Reform.”

It is understood that Budget Day is 10 October 2017 and the Committee will hold a series of pre-Budget hearings before 4 October 2017 in order to agree a report before Budget Day.

The Committee is also due to meet the Minister for Finance and Public Expenditure and Reform Paschal Donohue and his officials on 27 September 2017.

Choices

The committee will examine key income and expenditure choices, and test assumptions that should underpin the Budget.

It will also hear evidence of any potential risks to growth and their impact on revenue and expenditure.

“We also need to examine broader issues that arise from the Budget, including measures to address inequality in our society, and longer-term budget planning issues,” Josepha Madigan said.

Among the groups who will be appearing before the Committee in the coming weeks are: IFAC, ESRI, NERI, Chambers Ireland, IBEC, ICTU and the Minister and officials from the Department of Finance and Public Expenditure and Reform.