How small is the fiscal space? That’s Leo Varadkar’s big headache

Transparency has proved elusive, and we are being told there is only €300m to €400m for new budget measures, says Brendan Howlin.

AS I write, harried officials in the Department of Finance are looking down the back of every sofa in Merrion Street.

The National Economic Dialogue (NED) took place over two days last week and the fiscal space isn’t nailed down. The new Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, is talking about hidden fiscal space. That’s a far cry from the budget transparency we were promised.