IBEC: Keep budget target at €3.6bn

THE head of IBEC has urged the Government not to go over its target of €3.6 billion in austerity measures in December’s budget, adding that greater ambition for growth and recovery is needed more.

Speaking to RTÉ yesterday, IBEC’s director general Danny McCoy also scotched fears of a secondary recession and expressed confidence in the country trading its way out of its economic reversal.

Mr McCoy said that the country has made “major progress” in terms of restoring its competitiveness and ensuring that domestic businesses are on “a firm and sustainable footing” and said that the Irish economy should grow this year for the first time in four years.