Jack Chambers has a big problem. In fact, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform has two of them. The first is that the State’s rate of spending growth is outflanking the growth rates of the economy. The second is that, because of the river of cash flowing in from a small number of multinationals, the State can afford to mask the spending profligacy. Neither is sustainable. In 2019, the cost of running the State was €66 billion. Budget 2026 allocated €116.8 billion for this year, an €8.1 billion increase on this year’s allocation. Already, we know that the actual…

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