Paschal Donohoe - the never-to-be taoiseach who rose from the ashes of 'McCreevynomics'

"'Prudent Paschal' leaves Irish politics for a €600,000 World Bank role Track back to a long-forgotten Seanad debate in October 2009 to pinpoint the evolution of Paschal Donohoe. The country was in the grip of the global economic crash. In April that year, then-finance minister Brian Lenihan delivered an emergency budget that slashed spending, hiked taxes and established the National Asset Management Agency (Nama) to remove bad loans from bank balance sheets."

"The country was in the grip of the global economic crash. In April that year, then-finance minister Brian Lenihan delivered an emergency budget that slashed spending, hiked taxes and established the National Asset Management Agency (Nama) to remove bad loans from bank balance sheets."

Paschal Donohoe is leaving Irish politics to accept a World Bank role paying €600,000. His political evolution can be traced to a 2009 Seanad debate that reflects his fiscal approach. Ireland was in the grip of the global economic crash in 2009, and an emergency budget in April that year cut spending, raised taxes, and created the National Asset Management Agency (Nama) to remove bad loans from bank balance sheets. Those crisis-era measures shaped policy, institutional responses, and careers of politicians involved in managing the fallout, influencing subsequent public finance decisions and the profiles of political figures moving into international roles.

Read at Independent