The watchdog also said that only half of the Government’s 2.1 billion euro of cost-of-living measures were targeted.

The Irish Fiscal Advisory Council said the ‘very large’ Budget package will add pressures and widen the underlying deficit

Economist Seamus Coffey of the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (Ifac) is urging the Government to “stick” to the rule that would limit annual growth in spending to five per cent per year

The Irish Fiscal Advisory Council report said: "The spending estimates omit large amounts of known spending this year."

Leo Varadkar said the rule was set at a time of low inflation

The Irish Fiscal Advisory Council has urged the Government not to ‘repeat past mistakes’ ahead of Budget 2024

Corporation tax receipts are highly concentrated among a small number of large, foreign-owned multinationals, data from the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council shows

The Irish Fiscal Advisory Council has advised shifting to a system like Canada's to avoid the need for larger PRSI contributions in the future

The Irish Fiscal Advisory Council said that a greater debate was needed to decide what Ireland should do to broaden its tax base.