## Ireland: Fiscal Transparency Assessment

_IMF Staff Country Reports, July 16, 2013_

## Source details

**Canonical URL:** [Ireland: Fiscal Transparency Assessment](https://www.imf.org/en/publications/cr/issues/2016/12/31/ireland-fiscal-transparency-assessment-40780)

## Other formats

- [Markdown version](/en/publications/cr/issues/2016/12/31/ireland-fiscal-transparency-assessment-40780/index.md)
- [Structured JSON version](/en/publications/cr/issues/2016/12/31/ireland-fiscal-transparency-assessment-40780/index.json)
- [Bundle manifest](/en/publications/cr/issues/2016/12/31/ireland-fiscal-transparency-assessment-40780/bundle-manifest.json)

## Bibliographic details
- Published: July 16, 2013
- Series: IMF Staff Country Reports
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.5089/9781484303924.002

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### Summary
- The paper discusses Ireland’s Fiscal Transparency Assessment.
- The Irish government has ambitious plans to improve the timeliness, quality, and comprehensiveness of its budgets, statistics, and accounts.
- Ireland has the capacity and information to bring its fiscal transparency practices into line with international best practice standards within a reasonable time frame, and at relatively modest additional cost.
- The Irish administration already incurs many of the fixed and ongoing costs associated with modern accrual-based accounting, and risk-based fiscal management.
- Fiscal reporting in Ireland is characterized by a high degree of disclosure but also a high degree of fragmentation.

### Key findings
- Ambitious government plans to improve fiscal transparency across budgets, statistics, and accounts.
- Existing capacity and information indicate feasibility of aligning practices with international best practice.
- Incremental improvements would require relatively modest additional cost because many fixed and ongoing costs are already incurred.
- Current fiscal reporting combines high disclosure with high fragmentation, implying scope for consolidation and better integration.

### Policy implications and recommendations (implied by assessment)
- Prioritize measures that improve timeliness, quality, and comprehensiveness of budgetary, statistical, and accounting outputs.
- Leverage existing accrual-based accounting and risk-based fiscal management processes to minimize additional costs of reforms.
- Address fragmentation in fiscal reporting to enhance coherence and accessibility of information for policymakers and the public.

### Subjects and keywords
- Subjects: Budget planning and preparation; Expenditure; Financial statements; Fiscal risks; Public debt; Public financial management (PFM)
- Keywords: annual budget; budget documentation; Budget planning and preparation; budget year; central bank; chief financial officer; CR; debt service; Europe; expenditure forecast; Financial statements; Fiscal risks; General government financial assets; General government gross revenue; Global; government expenditure; government finance statistics manual; government spending; government support; indirect tax; ISCR; nominal GDP; public expenditure; State agency; time horizon

*Source: Ireland: Fiscal Transparency Assessment, IMF Staff Country Reports 2013, Issue 209*

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## Content in this bundle

- **Ireland: Fiscal Transparency Assessment; IMF Country Report 13/209; March 2013**
  - [Ireland: Fiscal Transparency Assessment; IMF Country Report 13/209; March 2013 (Markdown version)](/-/media/websites/imf/imported-full-text-pdf/external/pubs/ft/scr/2013/_cr13209.pdf.md){rel="alternate" type="text/markdown"}
  - [Ireland: Fiscal Transparency Assessment; IMF Country Report 13/209; March 2013 (PDF)](/-/media/websites/imf/imported-full-text-pdf/external/pubs/ft/scr/2013/_cr13209.pdf){rel="external" type="application/pdf"}

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_Source: https://www.imf.org/en/publications/cr/issues/2016/12/31/ireland-fiscal-transparency-assessment-40780_