Some tax concessions but plug budget deficit first

It is mad that Ireland should still be running budget deficits at this stage of the economic cycle, writes Jim Power

A few weeks back, I argued in these pages that the minister for finance should adopt a very cautious approach in next month’s budget.

I suggested that injecting fiscal stimulus into an economy that is growing quite strongly would not be sensible and that Ireland’s level of government debt, properly measured, is still dangerously high.