It’s now only a matter of hours before Michael McGrath, the Minister for Finance, and Paschal Donohoe, the Minister for Public Expenditure, get to their feet in the Dáil to begin announcing the measures contained in Budget 2024.
The backdrop to this budget is one of soaring costs for Irish businesses over the last 18 months, with inflation at its highest level in 40 years and record employment figures in the labour market. At the same time, interest rates have been hiked up to their highest level since the turn of the century in a bid to contain runaway inflation across Europe, which is driving up the cost of debt and working capital for every company.