Making the ‘hidden fiscal space’ work

New Taoiseach Leo Varadkar’s main pledge upon taking office was to deliver a “republic of opportunity”.

As Fianna Fáil has noted, that will now be put to the test in the forthcoming budget.

The minority government is in a bind due to its own actions. Last year, it was a like a naive college student who had got a student grant - it rushed out and spent most of the money immediately.

There ...