IFAC: Government has a black hole of €6bn

The Government has a €6bn black hole in its spending plans through 2021, the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (IFAC) said yesterday.

That’s because the Government, in a spending and tax blueprint published as recently as April, did not take account of the costs on the public purse from an ageing and growing population or inflation, according to the fiscal watchdog.

Under its so-called Stability Programme Update, the Government set down its spending plans for the European Commission in April.