Ireland's Brexit Plan

http://www.rte.ie/news/2016/1004/821244-politics-ireland/

Taoiseach Enda Kenny will bring a memo to Cabinet later updating ministers on the Government's strategy on the UK's decision to leave the European Union.

I really hope the Government push forward and make it a point to find some silver linings in the cloud that is Brexit.

I think we are in an ideal position (if we do a couple of things) to mitigate some of the inevitable economic consequences of the currency fluctuations*, and capitalise on some of the uncertainties surrounding City jobs etc.

We have managed to bring our deficit down (not closed it yet) and everything that we can possibly do to keep that current account deficit at this type of level or lower should be continued. We need a limber lithe and ultimately reasonably-costing state if we want to be able to begin investing in her ability to attract others aboard.

I've posted previously about our Infrastructure Deficit, and the coupling of the quandary of shockingly low cost of Government Debt but our ties to the S&G Pact (EU Rules) whilst asking about how we might gain ourselves exemptions in order to combat that infrastructural deficit.

I believe that the Government must use Brexit's direct (and estimations give proportionally larger) effect on Ireland to campaign for specific exemptions to the S&G Pact for direct investment and development of the state's infrastructure. There are many infrastructure plans that made sense from a cost/benefit perspective when money was expensive, now that it's cheap, and considering the 'live' political footballs**, the surplus of labour ***, these plans must be re-assessed and fast tracked in order to improve the country's facilities and growth potential.

If we can use our expected difficulties from the Brexit developments to secure exemptions, and importantly make the correct choices in addressing the Infrastructure Deficit with the additional capital that we might employ, we can work towards alleviating several problems at once, whilst also making the country more attractive for relocation for any UK-based firms considering this option.

Benefits
Multiplier effects of Infrastructure development on the economy.
Increased supplies of serviced land.
Added capacity for public transport systems.
Added capacity for housing supplies.
Upgrading the facilities for millions.
Reducing problems which many firms cite as issues in contemplating moves to Ireland improves our chances of attracting them.

Costs
Additional debt, on top of our already too-big (but becoming more manageable) pile.
The worry that this 'new money' gets directed anywhere near day-to-day spending

I think that it is a good time to borrow Theresa May's mantra and aim to make a success of Brexit.

Can I see this neutered Government boldly doing so?


* Ireland and the UK's economy are very intertwined, any large deviations (we have already seen very big moves) which make Irish goods relatively more expensive to the UK customer will have a negative effect on Irish producers. Equally, the currency deviations have made UK goods relatively cheaper for Irish customers, which again could prompt difficulties for Irish producers.

** improve public transport => additional serviced land introduced => additional housing supply

*** Infrastructure projects delayed/not being undertaken for many years now. The expertise re-allocated and/or idle.

The Government's Position Paper on Brexit available here https://static.rasset.ie/documents/news/government-position-paper-on-brexit.pdf

10 year investment plan mooted (wahey-ish)