Ireland Prepares For The Worst With No-Deal Brexit Budget

Ireland presented a no-deal Brexit budget for 2020 on Tuesday, pledging a €1.2 billion package to keep firms afloat by allowing the state’s finances to return to deficit if Britain leaves the European Union without a transition period.

With Britain’s latest scheduled exit from the EU just three weeks away, Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe made the call last month to assume the worst, eschewing the tax cuts and spending hikes of recent years to set aside funds for exposed businesses.

Donohoe nevertheless gave the booming economy a €2.9 billion boost, mostly through pre-committed extra spending in areas such as infrastructure and public sector pay – a far cry from the savage austerity budgets required a decade ago after Ireland’s financial crisis.

ESM