Watchdog criticises extra €8.5bn Budget spend without a plan to fund it

Fiscal Advisory Council says there is no indication as to how new measures will be financed

Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe presenting the budget in October. 

The Government has not explained how it will finance up to €8.5bn in increased permanent spending announced in the recent budget that will remain long after the current pandemic, Ireland's spending and tax watchdog has said.

In its report assessing the Government’s Budget 2021 plan, the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (Ifac) said the extra spending increases will make it more difficult to bring the debt ratio back down at a steady pace in the post-Covid recovery period. They also pointed to major longstanding issues that will impact the State finances including Ireland's rapidly ageing population, an over-reliance on corporation tax, climate change, and ambitions to embark on large-scale Sláintecare reforms of the health sector.