Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent)
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A golden rule has been suggested. There had been an argument for such a rule for the exclusion of climate expenditure and certain social cohesion and public expenditure. There have been a few different arguments for areas of essential public expenditure. This is recognising that the rules have failed. It is not that they have had not been applied, but that the austerity rules that were brought through and the hard application of short-term fiscal rules have had an actively damaging impact on long-term capital expenditure, social cohesion and social services, as well as on our climate readiness.