In a report published this morning, the Economic and Social Research Institute, ESRI, showed that young people are at a particular disadvantage as a result of having multiple quality of life issues, including overcrowding, financial issues and so forth, while a survey by the Irish League of Credit Unions indicates that many families find it very difficult to afford the costs of children going back to school. When one compares that with the Central Statistics Office, CSO, figures relating to Irish economic growth which state that the Irish economy grew by a staggering 26% in 2015, one gets a real sense of the disconnect between the official figures and the reality for ordinary working people as depicted by the ESRI and the Irish League of Credit Unions.

The CSO figures are not a bolt from the blue in the sense that we have known for some time that we do not have a proper, accurate statistical model for calculating the actual size of the Irish economy. This has very serious impacts, including on our budget planning, investment policies and our fiscal strategy. At a stroke it undermines fiscal rules and the fiscal treaty, because nobody believes the figures. Mr. Paul Krugman, the Nobel laureate, has described it as leprechaun economics. Mr. Philip Lane of the Central Bank apparently went to the CSO last Monday to tell it that the figures are not real and do not accurately reflect the size of the Irish economy. There is economic growth, but clearly it is not in the order of 26%. As one economist said, I believe it was Mr. Tom Healy of the Nevin Economic Research Institute, NERI, even the Soviet Russia in the 1930s did not publish statistics of that scale. Others have also commented on the farcical nature of these figures. This damages Ireland's international reputation.

As I said, this should not have been a surprise, although the scale of it has been. However, we have known for some time that our capacity to reflect our economic growth accurately has been impaired. Consider the budget figures of the past two to three years and the accompanying documentation. Hidden in the documentation was an acknowledgement by the Department of Finance that it could not explain tax buoyancy, particularly corporate tax buoyancy.

Does the Deputy have a question?

Certainly. I have 22 seconds left to ask it. I put it to the Taoiseach that at the core of this are the actions of such a model and any effort made in recent years to get to grips with this reality. Does he accept that the figure of 26% is farcical and damaging to the country internationally? Will he ask the CSO to design a new model to capture accurately what is happening in the economy, taking on board the globalised nature of the world economy and our interaction with it?

First, the figures produced yesterday are unprecedented. They do not reflect accurately what is happening in the economy. Obviously, the figure of 26% is unprecedented and significantly stronger than the previous estimate of 7.8%, but it is important to note that is due to exceptional factors. It highlights the complexity and difficulty in interpreting the macroeconomic data in Ireland. The figures reflect a number of factors, including the impact of relocation of entire plcs to Ireland. This would have significantly boosted investment and net exports. Net exports contributed 18% to the 2015 growth figure. Contract manufacturing played a role in the figures. This occurs where an Irish-based company with another manufacturing unit abroad manufactures and sells products to other countries from that unit but is still based in Ireland.

While the headline figures can be exaggerated in an Irish context and will obviously be the subject of intense scrutiny, other indicators such as the level of consumer spending, the rise in the level of employment and the continuous drop in unemployment trends, as well as taxation receipts, confirm that there is a strong recovery rooted in the domestic economy in Ireland. That domestic demand - spending by Irish businesses and Irish people - is also growing strongly. It is an opportunity arising from the many sacrifices made during the years.

The figures predate the decision in Britain in the referendum. Obviously, there has been a sharp depreciation of sterling since that decision and a deterioration in the outlook for the UK economy. While it is an unprecedented figure, the fact is, based on growth projections in real terms, the growth levels seen in 2015 were both a one-off and exceptional in nature. We cannot make policy on that basis, but the CSO takes into account in compiling its figures issues such as aircraft leasing and manufacturing here by companies that have units abroad. As noted in the summer economic statement which was debated in the Dáil some time ago, the Department of Finance will prepare a full macroeconomic projection in advance of the budget in October. It will include updated estimates of economic growth, the public finances and whatever fiscal space is available to the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Paschal Donohoe, taking account of developments up to that time, including the latest CSO numbers and the decision in the United Kingdom.

The Taoiseach's time is up.

The Taoiseach did not answer the question, which was whether he would commission the CSO to design a proper, accurate way of calculating the real size of the economy. Professor John FitzGerald, formally of the ESRI, has attempted to do this as an individual. It is shocking that the Department of Finance and the Taoiseach's Department did not work years ago to create a proper model to calculate the size of the economy. The figures are not unprecedented. They are false in terms of what is happening on the ground and the reality in the economy. The CSO says it is including - not taking account of - the impact of aircraft leasing, corporate inversions and contract manufacturing, but none of this impacts on real jobs and investment in the economy, as the thousands of people who are struggling realise.

It is not good enough that no one in official Ireland has attempted to address this by coming up with an accurate home-grown model that takes all of this into account, strips it out and gives us a proper figure.

Thank you, Deputy Martin.

It is essential that this be done, in terms of how we plan our budgets and economy but also in terms of our international reputation. Unfortunately, the international world looks at this with some degree of ridicule and disbelief. There was a time when we would haughtily go around the place questioning the Chinese or the Russians for their economic statistics. Can we really go abroad and hold our heads up high-----

You have made your point, thank you.

-----about Irish official statistics? No one in their right mind believes Irish official statistics. This cuts to the heart of our credibility in terms of presenting economic data. This is a serious issue which needs urgent addressing by the Taoiseach's Department, the CSO and other related State entities.

It is true to say the CSO is quite independent in how it does its analysis, but it does take these factors into account. Changes have occurred, such as the transition of entire public limited companies to Ireland and the transfer of a significant amount of intellectual property, contract manufacturing and the scale of aircraft leasing. The Deputy is right in terms of these figures boosting GDP. There is no proportionate increase in employment. These are figures which are compiled accurately by the CSO and they take into account those changes that have taken place in the international economy. The Deputy is aware of the changes made by the Government in terms of complying with base erosion and profit shifting, BEPS, and the OECD in terms of having got rid of the double Irish concept. The issues of aircraft leasing, contract manufacturing, intellectual property moving onshore here and the transition of entire public limited companies has boosted these figures.

Thank you, Taoiseach.

The Department of Finance will set out its projections later in the year, but it will also base its policy on a more normal growth rate, such as has been predicted by the Department, of in the region of 3.5% to 4%. I agree that an extraordinary elevation of 26% based on some of these factors and others, such as the depreciation of sterling, do not impact in reality on big numbers in terms of employment-----

Thank you, Taoiseach. The time is up.

-----but it is important that on the underlying issues the growth in jobs and consumer spend and the drop in unemployment is where the real value of the economy is and the projections will be based on 3.5% to 4%.