Rainy day fund legislation
Deputy Broughan asks whether legislation for a rainy day fund will come this year and criticises economic risks and public spending pressures. The Taoiseach says the fund will be set up through the NAMA (Amendment) Bill and argues it is needed so the State can avoid repeating past mistakes and build a surplus in good times.
Does the Taoiseach intend to bring in legislation this year on the so-called rainy day fund? There is nothing indicated on the clár and, as he is aware, the Department of Finance is talking about diverting €1.5 billion from the Strategic Investment Fund and €0.5 billion a year from people's taxation, to which the Taoiseach referred earlier, into such a fund from 2019. We heard earlier from the leader of Fianna Fáil about the huge gap that we know exists in the health budget for 2018. We have the ongoing disaster in housing and we have a very large national debt, one of the highest in the OECD. Already, €14 billion or €15 billion has been set aside by the NTMA for the genesis of a future wealth fund. Is that something we should be talking about at all? As I put to the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, last week, using one of his own favourite words, is it not bonkers to be talking about a rainy day fund when it is raining already for many of our citizens?
Comment on this
On the legislation, the vehicle to set it up is the National Asset Management Agency (Amendment) Bill, which was in committee in January. I strongly agree with the establishment of a rainy day fund. What I never want to see happen again is for us to repeat the mistakes of the past. When an economy is growing and going relatively well, it makes sense to first balance the books, run a surplus and then put some of that surplus aside for a period so that when there is a downturn, and it is always the case that there will be a downturn at some point in the future, we will never again have to do what happened in this country five or six years ago. We never want to be in a situation ever again where we have to cut people's pay, pensions, welfare benefits and employment in the public sector. It terrifies me how often I come into this House and hear from all sides proposals to repeat the mistakes of the past-----
Comment on this
The Taoiseach is one of those who made the mistakes.
Comment on this
-----whether it is running deficits when we do not need to do so, tax incentives for developers or 97% mortgages from the Government.
Comment on this
Whether it is left, right or centre, all I hear from the Opposition every week is that we should repeat the mistakes of the past. It is terrifying.
Comment on this
We do not all have daddy to write the cheque.