Dear Editor,
It appears that the recent report published in The Irish Times regarding Sinn Féin’s budget estimations for 2024 was somewhat harsh towards the party’s financial experts. The documents you cited from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform reveal that Sinn Féin’s projected alternative budget missed the target by millions of euros (‘Finance officials argue Sinn Féin made a miscalculation in its alternative budget projection’, Business, 3rd March).
The specific case highlighted was Sinn Féin’s incorrect estimate of the cost incurred by not proceeding with a carbon tax rise, which they calculated at €141 million, while the official departmental estimate was a mere €47 million.
While a discrepancy of €94 million can’t be overlooked, it represents a considerable improvement from Sinn Féin’s 2020 election manifesto, which was critiqued for a colossal miscalculation. Mary Lou McDonald had a job explaining on an RTÉ interview how a proposed doubling of the vacant site levy, which brought in less than €900,000 in 2019, would provide a leading Sinn Féin government with €107 million in revenue.
Though a threefold error is still lamentable, it demonstrates an improvement. Nevertheless, there remains significant room for betterment – Sincerely,
PAT O’BRIEN,
Rathmines,
Dublin 6.