Economy

Analysis: McGrath stands accused of sideswipe at Ifac in row over chair’s pay

The squabble between government and its fiscal watchdog is against the backdrop of disagreements over Budget 2024

Michael McMahon: ‘There has been a huge amount of progress on the analysis, narrative and discussion on fiscal policy in Ireland’

When the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (Ifac) was being established in the aftermath of the financial crash, Michael McGrath wanted to give it even more powers than were being planned.

Tabling an amendment to the Fiscal Responsibility Act in 2012, McGrath – then just a 35-year old opposition Fianna Fáil TD – argued that as well as its overall remit for the assessment of fiscal policy, the council should carry out assessments of particular government ...