Monetary adjustment ‘means to an end’

THE Government is still hopeful of keeping next year’s budgetary adjustment target at €3.6 billion, but said that any increase that might be made will be “marginal”.

Finance Minister, Michael Noonan is set to outline next year’s budgetary targets in early November, ahead of full details on December 6.

Speaking yesterday, at the completion of the third EU/IMF/ECB quarterly review of Ireland’s recovery programme, Mr Noonan said that getting the country’s budget deficit down to 8.6% of GDP in 2012 is the real target and that the monetary adjustment figure is a means to that end.