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Irish Fiscal Advisory Council

Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 14 February 2019

Thursday, 14 February 2019

Questions (42)

Michael Moynihan

Question:

42. Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for Finance if his officials meet the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council on a regular basis. [49136/18]

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Written answers

Under the Fiscal Responsibility Act 2012 (the Act), the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (IFAC) has been assigned the monitoring and assessment functions required of an independent national fiscal institution under the Treaty on Stability, Co-ordination and Governance in the Economic and Monetary Union. The Act establishes the Fiscal Advisory Council and assigns to it responsibility for examining and reporting on the appropriateness of the fiscal stance in Ireland.

One of its functions under the Act involves IFAC providing an independent assessment of the official macroeconomic forecasts of the Department of Finance. This is the so-called ‘endorsement function’ which requires that IFAC “endorse, as it considers appropriate, the macroeconomic forecasts prepared by the Department of Finance on which the Budget and Stability Programme will be based”.

As part of this process, my officials meet with both the IFAC Secretariat and the IFAC Council on a formal and structured basis in preparation of the forecasts that underpin the Stability Programme Update and the Budget each year. These engagements are outlined in the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Department of Finance and IFAC which is updated annually and published on my Department’s and IFAC’s websites.

Following the forecast endorsement process, Departmental officials and the IFAC secretariat meet to review the implementation of the process. In addition, officials from my Department and IFAC also engage in regular technical dialogue to ensure that the IFAC Secretariat and Council have a full understanding of the Department’s forecasting methodologies and process.

Furthermore, as one of the bodies under the aegis of the Department of Finance, my officials have occasional interaction with IFAC in accordance with its governing legislation and central regulation on routine administrative matters including staffing matters, finances and various ad hoc queries.

Question No. 43 answered with Question No. 18.
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