Economics before political expediency

Loosening the purse strings would threaten Ireland's exceptional but fragile recovery

Michael Noon-an says there will be no “daft spending spree”, while Enda Kenny maintains he will not put the country back in “hock” through a “populist” budget. Even Leo Varadkar is on message, saying Ireland must not lose the run of itself.

However, with official data released last week showing that the economy is to grow by around six per cent this year, there is a growing clamour for the government to loosen ...