OECD: New rules on open budget discussions could have prevented crash

New rules to provide more openness about the real state of the economy before the annual budget is announced could have prevented the crash if they were in place a decade ago.

An OECD official made the claim yesterday at the launch of the ‘Review of Budget Oversight’ document, which is seeking a series of major Dáil reforms of the budget process.

Under the plans, which have been backed by all parties, any future government will be asked to hold fiscal planning hearings every February, followed by pre-budget parliamentary hearings each July on more specific budget priorities to allow for improved scrutiny.