Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 20 September 2023

Committee on Budgetary Oversight

Pre-Budget Engagement (Resumed): Irish Fiscal Advisory Council and Nevin Economic Research Institute

Dr. Eddie Casey:

On the specifics, it is about the same. It is probably a little higher than we would have had in the last estimate, given the rise in inflation. The reason we are doing this is because we think the national development plan is a great idea. Ireland is a good model of how this is done. Doing a ten-year capital plan and setting out ambitions for infrastructure and various big projects is a good thing that you do not see a lot of internationally. Part of the problem in terms of how it is done is that it is all set in cash ceilings. In an environment such as today when inflation suddenly rises rapidly or there are very big difficulties getting construction workers because there is so much demand for other types of capital work, you will probably face overruns or delays to the projects being fulfilled. It speaks to the points we are making. Part of the problem is doing everything at the same time and realising all your ambitions at a point in the cycle when everything is really tight. That is why we say we are making a lot of the same past mistakes again. We are trying to do everything at the same time now.