A budget speech of political inserts, very carefully managed

ONE of those small but informative insights into the manner in which governments go about their business came courtesy of the budget documentation released by the Department of Finance on Tuesday.

Each year, the Finance Minister’s speech to the Dáil is accompanied by a so-called “Budget Book”, which contains the speech, a summary of the measures being taken, economic projections, and related details.

While finance ministers are always making late adjustments in budget week, they have to call a halt at some stage because the Budget Book has to go to the printing presses. But Michael Noonan evidently kept changing his speech right up to the final hours on Tuesday.