Government must proceed with €3.1bn in budget cuts, says ESRI

The Government must not ease up in any fiscal consolidation this year, despite growing political pressure for a softer budget, a conference heard yesterday.

At a special budget conference in Dublin yesterday organised by the ESRI, its chief economist, John FitzGerald, said the Government had to proceed with €3.1bn in budget cuts this year.

His fellow panellists, Peter Breuen, from the IMF, former government adviser Alan Ahearne and Trinity College Dublin economics professor Philip Lane, also called for the Government to stick to the existing strategy of reaching the 3% fiscal deficit by 2015.