Adopting the programme has allowed the fiscal restructuring to be done in a much more deliberate and targeted way than otherwise would have been possible. This has increased the likelihood that the improvement will be both structural and lasting in nature, and that as a result the Irish Government will be able to access debt markets on a sustainable basis from this year onwards.
That said, the sheer size of the necessary correction has meant that both revenues and spending levels have had to be adjusted sharply. The fiscal consolidation programme adopted by the Irish Government has been front loaded and, between 2008 and 2013, has entailed measures equal to almost 18 per cent of GDP.13 The size of this adjustment is second only to that of Greece.