Is that all an illusion or does it stack up at all?

I think a bit of both.

I mean, it stacks up in the sense that the government has imposed these new spending ceilings and it broadly has stuck to them for next year.

And that is the result of the work of Jack Chambers going in.

Jack has been given the term Jack Thatcher, I think, by a couple of ministers down here because of the hard line that he kind of held in those budget talks.

Ministers coming in with, you know, quite voluminous asks and chambers sending them packing and eventually only giving them half of what they were asking for.

So that side of it is not an illusion.

been the dominant

Is that all an illusion, or does it stack up at all?

I, I think a bit of both.

I mean, it, it, it, it stacks up in the sense that the government has imposed these new spending ceilings, and it broadly has stuck to them for next year.

Um, and that is the result of the work of Jack Chambers, uh, going in.

Jack has been given the term Jack Thatcher, I think, by a couple of, uh, ministers, uh, do- down here because of the hard line that he kinda held in those budget talks, ministers coming in with, you know, quite voluminous asks, and Chambers sending them packing and eventually only giving them half of what they were asking for.

So that side of it is not an illusion.

There was very real fiscal constraints, spending constraints put on these ministers despite the fact that corporate taxes are still coming in ahead of projections, and despite the fact that the Irish economy, against all odds, remains, uh, in, in, in, in, in rude health.

Um, what's your sense as to how the energy pressures are going to continue to influence our politics over the next six to 12 months?

Daniel Murray, quick, quick word from you.

Yeah, I think there has been some attempt to try and protec- pr- pr- protect the maybe revenue-reducing, uh, potential of, of this scheme by limiting it to a 12,000 euro, uh, input per, per annum.

That should stop, in many instances, the shifting of more almost, like, professional investors shifting cash in large volumes into a scheme like this.

And at those kind of levels, you are looking at probably targeting more retail, uh, in- investors and those who, who haven't invested, uh, to date.

The thing is, is that whatever about mobilizing this money for investment into the, into the productive economy, to really get the kind of benefits of, of investments and compound interest, you need to see investments at much higher levels than, than 12,000-

No longer

... is no longer, uh, sacrosanct and, a- a- and, and is being cut.

So that, in some ways, I, I, I think helps kind of, um, s- stave off some of those potential protests.

Has it?

... that, that, that it would do.

Just about.

It, it, it has just about.

Um, but what's interesting is that it seems to be making up the difference on the tax side.

I mean, it's still saying that it has a tax package of about 1.6 billion, and we've heard the majority of that is kind of, uh, the, the income tax package and, and a couple of other goodies.

But they're not including in that package the extension the, of the excise cuts, uh, into spring of next year, which is gonna cost up to 450 million euro.

It wouldn't have had a prayer winning that election, would it?