Tax & Spend

Ireland’s Budget Breaks Spending Rules, Central Bank Chief Says

  • Measures may drive up inflation, Makhlouf says in interview
  • Ireland’s government announced one-off measures in its budget
Gabriel MakhloufPhotographer: Vivek Prakash/Bloomberg
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The Irish government’s decision to break its spending rules for a giveaway budget may drive up inflation and risk damaging investment in the country, according to central bank chief Gabriel Makhlouf.

Ireland’s Finance Minister Michael McGrath this week announced a budget of €14 billion including a package of €2.7 billion to help households with the rising cost of living. Speaking in an interview from the IMF’s annual meeting in Morocco, Makhlouf said he would have taken a “less expansionary” approach and warned the fiscal package risks undermining efforts to cool inflation.