As the Deputy will be aware, Ireland agreed a programme of financial support in late 2010 with the ECB, European Commission and the IMF (the Troika). This programme is worth €85 billion, with €17.5 billion coming from our own resources and €67.5 billion of loans being provided from EU funds, the IMF and bilateral lenders. Without this funding the State would not have been able to raise the funds necessary to pay for key public services for our citizens. The programme provides us with a road map to get out of the current crisis. Its objectives are to ensure that the economy can return to sustainable growth, consolidate our fiscal position and support the return to a properly functioning banking system. The provision of this funding is conditional on meeting policy commitments. These commitments are negotiated with our external partners. It is also the case that our EU membership requires us to bring our General Government deficit below 3% of GDP by 2015. The adjustments we are undertaking are those that would be required in the normal course. The EU-IMF funding provides us with the space to do so over a number of years. Our performance in meeting the programme conditionality is reviewed on a quarterly basis. These reviews cover a broad range of policy issues. As part of the review process, both the EU and the IMF review teams prepare an assessment, titled a "Staff Report", to inform their decision making process. The content of such reports is the responsibility of the relevant organisations. I would emphasise that the policy measures to which we have committed are solely those set out in the programme documents.
In the case of fiscal consolidation, the commitments included are defined in terms of broad aggregate adjustments for both taxation and expenditure in the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and are set in the context of the Government's Medium Term Fiscal Strategy (MTFS) published in November 2011. The relevant commitment gives the Government scope within the overall parameters to determine the appropriate policy choices to achieve the required fiscal consolidation.
I am aware that the IMF Staff Report suggests that the principle of more means testing could be extended to the elderly in terms of "reducing non targeted old age expenditure" and that it cites some examples in this regard. These references in the IMF staff report reflect the IMF staff's suggestions. The Government is well aware of the concerns raised by such references. However the final decisions on the fiscal adjustment measures to be adopted in Budget 2013, scheduled for later this year, will be taken by the Government in the context of the overall fiscal parameters set out in the programme and will be based on the Government's assessment of its priorities and requirements taking account of the prevailing macroeconomic conditions.
