The Central Bank has upgraded its forecasts for growth in the economy in its latest quarterly bulletin. It has also said that any decision to permanently increase spending in upcoming budgets will have to balanced by new taxes or reduced spending in other areas.
This, it says, will involve "trade offs" and choices as "structural imbalances between revenue and expenditure may emerge". It warns that lower corporate tax receipts in the future and the cost of an ageing population make it "reasonable to consider the need for revenue-raising measures or reducing other areas of spending".
It says that if current spending is sustainable then it creates the space for investing in the known deficits in housing and climate action.