Ireland tops 2008 EU budget deficit list

IRELAND had a higher budget deficit than anyother European Union nation last year while the International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicts the recession will be particularly severe here.

Figures released by EU statistic agency, Eurostat showed Ireland posted the highest gap between government spending and revenue in 2008.

Twenty-one of the EU’s 27 states saw their public finances worsen last year, with nine posting deficits higher than an EU limit of 3% of gross domestic product (GDP) and another nine breaking a rule restricting overall government debt.