## Ireland: Selected Issues

_IMF Staff Country Reports, December 15, 2023_

## Source details

**Canonical URL:** [Ireland: Selected Issues](https://www.imf.org/en/publications/cr/issues/2023/12/14/ireland-selected-issues-542473)

## Other formats

- [Markdown version](/en/publications/cr/issues/2023/12/14/ireland-selected-issues-542473/index.md)
- [Structured JSON version](/en/publications/cr/issues/2023/12/14/ireland-selected-issues-542473/index.json)
- [Bundle manifest](/en/publications/cr/issues/2023/12/14/ireland-selected-issues-542473/bundle-manifest.json)

## Bibliographic details
- Published: December 15, 2023
- Series: IMF Staff Country Reports
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.5089/9798400261428.002

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### Overview
- The Selected Issues paper provides an international perspective on two recent Irish policy measures:
  - Setting up new savings and counter cyclical and climate infrastructure funds.
  - Reforming the judicial review of planning decisions in Ireland.
- The paper is structured as two essays: the first on sovereign wealth fund design and operation; the second on planning and permitting system weaknesses and proposed legislative reforms.

### Sovereign Wealth / Savings and Countercyclical and Climate Infrastructure Funds
- Findings:
  - Presents international best practices in the design and operation of sovereign wealth funds relevant for Ireland’s two new funds.
  - Highlights the importance of operating the funds within a strong fiscal policy framework.
- Policy implications and recommendations:
  - Design and operate the funds consistent with international best practices to ensure fiscal and macroeconomic stability.
  - Anchor fund operations in a clear fiscal policy framework to guide saving, investment, and withdrawal rules.

### Planning, Permitting, and Judicial Review
- Findings:
  - Reviews Ireland’s planning and permitting system and identifies key elements that have hindered public investment.
  - Analyzes the government’s proposed Bill to reform the planning system and contrasts its key features with those of other international jurisdictions.
  - Identifies several contributors to inefficiencies in planning and judicial review:
    - Loose standing requirements.
    - Lack of mandatory timelines related to judicial review.
    - Institutional governance issues within the planning board.
  - Notes that the newly proposed reforms and legislative measures seek to address these issues.
- Policy implications and recommendations:
  - Tighten standing requirements to reduce frivolous or dilatory legal challenges that impede public investment timelines.
  - Introduce mandatory timelines for judicial review processes to reduce uncertainty and delays in project implementation.
  - Strengthen institutional governance of the planning board to improve decisionmaking and implementation capacity.
  - Ensure that proposed legislative changes are benchmarked against international practices to balance access to justice with efficient permitting and investment delivery.

### Key Takeaways
- Two complementary reform areas addressed:
  - Fiscal and institutional design for new national funds (savings; counter cyclical and climate infrastructure).
  - Legal, procedural, and governance reforms to accelerate planning and public investment.
- Core message: aligning fund governance with fiscal policy and modernizing planning and judicial review procedures are central to improving Ireland’s public investment outcomes.

*International Monetary Fund. Ireland: Selected Issues.*

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## Content in this bundle

- **Ireland: Selected Issues; IMF Country Report No. 23/412; November 22, 2023**
  - [Ireland: Selected Issues; IMF Country Report No. 23/412; November 22, 2023 (Markdown version)](/-/media/files/publications/cr/2023/english/1irlea2023002.pdf.md){rel="alternate" type="text/markdown"}
  - [Ireland: Selected Issues; IMF Country Report No. 23/412; November 22, 2023 (PDF)](/-/media/files/publications/cr/2023/english/1irlea2023002.pdf){rel="external" type="application/pdf"}

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_Source: https://www.imf.org/en/publications/cr/issues/2023/12/14/ireland-selected-issues-542473_