Economy

Government risks ‘overheating’ the economy unless it limits spending growth next year - Ifac

The state’s budgetary watchdog has warned the government it must limit spending growth to 5 per cent next year or it risks unbalancing the economy and repeating the mistakes of the Celtic Tiger years

Paschal Donohoe, the Minister for Public Expenditure, and Michael McGrath, the Minister for Finance - the government must limit spending growth to 5% next year

The government risks “overheating” the economy and becoming dependent on “unreliable” corporate tax receipts if it opts for a giveaway budget later this year, the state’s budgetary watchdog has warned.

In its latest assessment of the public finances, the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (Ifac) warned the government must limit spending growth to 5 per cent or else risk “repeating the mistakes” of the Celtic Tiger years, when the state became over reliant on unsustainable stamp ...