‘State risks missing deficit target’

The Government may need to make more budget savings this year to reach its deficit target as growth prospects deteriorate, said David Haugh, a senior economist at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

“It is possible that the Government will have to do a little more in terms of fiscal consolidation this year” to reach its deficit goal of 8.6% of gross domestic product, David Haugh, head of the Irish desk at the Paris-based OECD, said.

“The prospects for the Irish economy have weakened,” he said.