Where's the spark in Budget 2018 build-up?

The Budget will be announced in exactly two weeks’ time but the usual fevered speculation over what we can expect when Paschal Donohoe gets to his feet is severely lacking this year.

There are a few reasons for this. The first is that, as one senior Fianna Fáil figure admitted last week: “There’s no money”. The government will deliver a balanced budget, ministers repeatedly say, but in doing this they have effectively lowered ...