In each of the Fiscal Council’s key publications, we include topical “boxes” covering economic or fiscal issues. These are self-contained analyses unique to the publication in which they appear.
Over time, a number of boxes have been written. For ease of reference, we compile all of these boxes on this page.

Boxes in the November 2019 Fiscal Assessment Report
- The Department should improve its general government accounting
- Contributions to the Rainy Day Fund suspended before they start
- The Department of Finance’s proposals to address corporation tax risks
- Characterising downturns in Ireland’s domestic economy
- How well do consumer and business sentiment correspond to real economic activity?
- Using a Large Bayesian VAR for short-run forecasting of Ireland’s macroeconomy
- Current primary spending is the main driver of spending drift in recent years
- The impact of Brexit on the public finances assumed in Budget 2020
- Health overruns in recent years: magnitude and main drivers
- Assessing the discretionary revenue measures introduced in Budget 2020
- The way health spending is reported can lead to different conclusions about its performance
- What are Approved Housing Bodies?
- Using GNI* star to assess compliance with the Expenditure Benchmark
- Fiscal vulnerabilities – assessing compliance with the Department of Finance’s suggested alternative fiscal rules
Boxes in the June 2019 Fiscal Assessment Report
- Sustainable Growth
- Dealing with the Economic and Fiscal Impact of Surging Corporation Tax Receipts
- Fiscal Impacts of Hard Brexit Scenarios
- Reforms to the European Stability Mechanism (ESM)
- Deriving Forecasts for Modified Gross National Income and the Modified Current Account
- Capital Project Overruns in Ireland
- Sources of Revenue Surprises Over Recent Years
- Corporation Tax Concentration and Volatility
- Forecasting Tax Revenue a Reassessment of Elasticities
- An Assessment of Ireland’s Compliance with the Fiscal Rules for 2018 under EU Methods
- The Uncertainty in assessing Compliance with the Fiscal Rules
Box in the Assessment of Compliance with the Domestic Budgetary Rule in 2018
Boxes in the November 2018 Fiscal Assessment Report
- Measuring Government Stimulus Using Net Policy Spending
- Demographic Change and Public Finances
- Underlying Measures of the Irish Economy
- Health Overruns
- Fiscal Rules under Department of Finance’s Alternative Output Gap Estimates
- Introductory Guide to the Debt Rule
Boxes in the June 2018 Fiscal Assessment Report
- The Duration of Cycles: Death by Illness, Not by Age
- The Appropriate Size of the Rainy Day Fund
- Impact of a Large, Foreign-Owned Multinational Firm Exiting Ireland
- New Alternative Supply-Side Estimates
- The Evolution of the Public Finances since Budget 2015
- Approved Housing Bodies
- Capital Expenditure and the National Development Plan
- Compliance with the Fiscal Rules Before the Crisis
- The Medium-term Orientation of the Fiscal Framework
Boxes in the November 2017 Fiscal Assessment Report
- Rainy Day Fund
- “Strong and Stable” — The Procyclicality of the CAM
- Challenges in Assessing the Equilibrium Household Savings Rate in Ireland
- Modelling Goods Exports
- Problems with the Commonly Agreed Methodology as Applied to Ireland
- Examining the Quality of Discretionary Tax Measures
- Plans for Public Investment Spending
- Ireland’s Public Debt Burden
- The Council’s Assessment of the Preventive Arm
Boxes in the June 2017 Fiscal Assessment Report
- Standard Debt Ratios and a 45 Per Cent Target
- Fan Charts for Components of GDP and Employment
- Potential Output, Overheating and the Department’s Commitment to Developing Alternatives to the Commonly Agreed Methodology (CAM)
- Macroeconomic Indicators for Ireland and Multinational Activities
- Spending Reviews
- Public Capital and Investment Expenditure
- The Council’s Stand-Still Medium Term Expenditure Scenario
- One-Off/Temporary Measures Relevant to 2016 Assessment
- Medium Term Expenditure Ceilings
Boxes in the November 2016 Fiscal Assessment Report
- Box A: The Evolution of the Budgetary Process
- Box B: Brexit Latest Indicators and Possible Implications for the Irish Economy
- Box C: the Disproportionate Impact of Corporation Taxes
- Box D: Fiscal Council Stand-Still Expenditure Scenario
- Box E: Assessment of Compliance with the Budgetary Rule
- Box F – What is Fiscal Space
- Box G – Implications of 2015 GDP Outturn for Fiscal Rules
Boxes in the June 2016 Fiscal Assessment Report
- Box A: A Programme for a Partnership Government
- Box B: Rainy Day Funds
- Box C: Contributions to Growth, Headline vs. Underlying
- Box D: Medium-Term Budgetary Frameworks and Expenditure Forecasts
- Box E: Medium-Term Expenditure Scenario
- Box F: The Update to Ireland’s Medium Term Objective (MTO)
- Box G: Introductory Guide to the Preventative Arm and the Budgetary Rule
Boxes in the November 2015 Fiscal Assessment Report
- Box A: Alternative Potential Output Estimates and a Modular Approach
- Box B: Use of Alternative Output Gap Measures by EU Finance Ministries
- Box C: Health Expenditure in 2015 and Implications for Future Expenditure
- Box D: Corporation Tax in 2015
- Box E: Illustrative Medium -Term Expenditure Scenario
- Box F: Setting Fiscal Rules in the Preventative Arm of the SGP