The Government hoped for a gentle run-in to a pre-election, giveaway budget, it will have been disappointed. The home news agenda has been dominated by the spiralling cost and ongoing delays of the National Children’s Hospital and the extraordinary costs incurred constructing a bike shed beside Leinster House and a security hut adjacent to the Department of Finance.
These all relate to the budget in an important way. Government spending is being increased sharply, particularly in the area of State investment to provide new houses, schools, hospitals and water and energy infrastructure. If this is an example of the value for money that can be expected, much of this will not be well spent.
The wider context here is an exchequer awash with cash, where it appears that using money prudently is not being given enough attention. The experience of the children’s hospital shows how costs can balloon if the project is not planned properly from the start. The sagas of the bike shed and the security hut, meanwhile, are further signs of lax control.
This matters when considering next week’s budget because the Government is, in some areas, showing a wider disregard for the concept of spending money wisely. A classic pre-election budget appears in prospect, with some €1.5 billion likely to be promised in once-off payments, mainly before the end of this year, in addition to the €8.3 billion package already promised for 2025. As a group of social lobbyists said this week, some of these payments waste money by giving a lot of cash to people who do not need it. This could be better directed to making a real difference to those who do. The less well-off will welcome the cash but what they really need are permanent commitments, rather than another round of once-off cash.
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In doling out money in this way the Government is responding to the cost-of-living crisis. But while promising to help hard-pressed families, it is also looking for votes.
Spending has increased by some 50 per cent in the Government’s time in power, yet still it seems to be running to catch up with demand in housing, infrastructure, healthcare, schools and so on. This is partly due to the unexpectedly fast surge in the population. But it is also due to a lack of strategic planning and poor implementation.
Ireland is well into a public finance boom which, at some stage, will run out of steam. Putting money away into two investment funds for the future was a good strategy. And keeping the budget in surplus is wise, indeed essential.
But delivery and focus remain challenges for the Coalition. Spreading cash far and wide next Tuesday would not provide much hope for improvement. How voters will react remains to be seen.