Every finance minister would dream of it, and yet it is not so easy to manage, especially with an election deadline approaching next year.
Ireland is in a budget surplus situation, and it is not just a temporary surplus. The surplus should be close to €8.6 billion in 2024, slightly more than in 2023 and at the same level as in 2022. A real jackpot (1.7% of GDP for the year 2023, according to the Irish Central Statistics Office) for this country of just over 5 million inhabitants whose budget amounts to €115 billion!