Watchdog: ‘It’s very unclear what’s happened to this money’

In a damning report, the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council has labelled the government’s economic plans as “not realistic”. Is it likely to prompt a change in direction?

Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe’s spending in Budget 2021 came under scrutiny from the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council. Picture: RollingNews.ie

Sebastian Barnes spoke calmly as he walked reporters through the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council’s (Ifac) latest analysis of the government’s handling of the economy last week.

As the watchdog’s chairman reeled off a stream of critical terms to describe the government’s economic forecasts, his demeanour belied the strength of feeling he and fellow council members had as to the inadequacy of officials’ work.

Their budget forecasts “lacked credibility” and their spending estimates were “not realistic”, ...