Storm clouds over Budget 2018 are yet to blow over

From the perspective of the minister for finance, in particular, and the Government in general, the arrival of Storm Ophelia on Monday very quickly took Budget 2018 off the news agenda, and particularly a couple of its more controversial elements.

Notwithstanding these controversies, the budget has been generally well received, with most sensible people accepting that in the context of the very limited resources at his disposal, the minister managed to deliver a fairly balanced package that addressed the key issues in the economy — housing supply, health, education, law and order, and an extremely modest easing of the tax burden facing middle income workers.

A little bit of progress made, but considerable progress could be made in the medium term if a similar budgetary strategy were to be applied over thecoming years. That, of course, would be a big ask, given the nature of Irish democracy.