RTÉ Brainstorm – A history of Irish budgets

Whitaker Institute member Dr Aidan Kane, of the Macroeconomics and Finance cluster, has written a new article for RTÉ Brainstorm. The piece looks at Irish budgets historically.

A history of Irish budgets

"The Minister for Finance has the weight of the past, and not just expectations of the future, on his shoulders"

“The Minister for Finance has the weight of the past, and not just expectations of the future, on his shoulders”

Opinion: our fiscal history tells us much about our past and the business of government over many centuries.

Budgets are mainly about the future: the minister announces taxing and spending plans for the year ahead, and beyond. But as Paschal Donohoe rises to deliver his speech in Dáil Éireann, he may well reflect that the weight of the past, and not just expectations of the future, lies heavily on his shoulders. Continue reading…