Since Ireland embarked on the Troika-financed Programme, the Fiscal Compact has re-opened an old debate among economists about what might be the best form of fiscal rule, and to what extent its implementation should allow for circumstantial deviations.
Given how important access to official funding has been to moderating the fiscal adjustment that would otherwise have been forced by the market, and given the fact that Ireland has found itself in a critical fiscal position twice now within a generation, is it a forgone conclusion that a constitutional rule, as has been agreed in the Fiscal Compact is the way to go?