budget 2024
Ten days and counting: Michael McGrath and Paschal Donohoe under pressure as budget day looms
Both finance ministers are struggling to contain expectations as Cabinet colleagues demand more funding for their departments
Michael McGrath and Paschal Donohoe could hardly be less heavy metal if they tried yet some in government circles were last week drawing parallels between the self-styled prudent custodians of the national finances and Spinal Tap, the fictional band at the centre of the eponymous 1984 film.
“Last year, they dialled it up to 11,” one government adviser said of the ministers’ last budget, alluding to a scene in the mockumentary where the guitarist boasts ...
