About the Event:

At this meeting of the IIEA Economists Group, the Chairman of the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council, Professor John McHale, delivered a comprehensive briefing that explained the role of fiscal councils and authorities in different jurisdictions as well as the design and functioning of Ireland's Council, which was established by the Minister for Finance in July 2011.

Its role is to provide independent assessments of the Government's budgetary plans and projections and to inform public discussion of economic and fiscal matters. It is set to be formally established in a Fiscal Responsibility Bill to be brought forward by the Government later this year.

The Council has already published its first fiscal assessment report, the findings of which Prof. McHale outlined for his audience. He finished his presentation by describing his ambitions for the Council, which are to bequeath a strong new pillar of Ireland's fiscal policy architecture that has trusted technical competencies, a reputation for independence and a firmly established role as a public watchdog.

About the Speaker:

John McHale is the first Chairman of the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council and Head of Economics at the National University of Ireland, Galway. Before joining NUIG he held positions as Assistant Professor of Economics and Associate Professor of Economics at Harvard University, and as Associate Professor of Managerial Economics and Toller Family Research Fellow at the Queen's University, Ontario.

Prof. McHale received Ph.D and A.M degrees from Harvard in 1996, and also holds first-class B.Comm. (1988) and M.Econ.Sc. (1990) degrees from the National University of Ireland. He has published numerous articles in refereed journals and edited volumes. His shorter articles have appeared in publications such as the Financial Times, the Irish Times and the Wall Street Journal. He has been a consultant to the World Bank on numerous migration and development projects.

John is currently a member of the Pensions Board and is an independent member of the National Economic and Social Council (NESC).