Sunday, December 22, 2024

Austin Hughes: Why spending big in Budget 2025 is only a problem if we spend badly

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Ministers cannot afford to miss an opportunity to lay the foundations for future prosperity

Public Expenditure Minister Paschal Donohoe (left) and Finance Minister Jack Chambers have a difficult balancing act to pull off in Budget 2025. Photo: PA

Most of the economic advice going to the Government of late has warned of the risks of trying to do too much in the upcoming Budget. But, in economics, as in life, risks don’t always lie only in one direction. There are significant risks that Budget 2025 fails to fully grasp the opportunity we now have to transform the outlook for the Irish economy for the better.

We need to plan and spend for a bigger, braver Ireland in the years to come. We need to discuss how best to run a high-pressure economy. This will entail running modest but manageable risks regarding overheating, risks that pale beside the need to deliver a sustainable increase in future economic capacity and living standards.

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