All the eggs, one precarious basket

The budget includes measures aimed at mitigating Ireland’s dangerous reliance on the multinational sector. This is a positive development

It is difficult to overstate the importance of multinationals to the Irish economy. Indeed, it says much that a one-off payment windfall from multinationals has been used to pay for yet another overspend in the Irish health service. However, the government has been keen to ensure that the revenues from multinationals are part of a more sustainable picture.

First, it has redirected some of the windfall to help start the new rainy day ...