Half of finance chiefs want €2bn budget plan

More than half of the country’s finance directors feel the Government should stick with its original plan for a €2bn adjustment in October’s budget.

Despite recent strong exchequer returns and GDP growth figures leading many commentators to suggest that little or no adjustment is actually needed, and Finance Minister Michael Noonan hinting that the €2bn plan is unlikely to be necessary, 52% of chief financial officers still feel the original budget plan is needed.

“Opinion is mixed amongst Irish chief financial officers, in terms of the appropriate adjustment required in Budget 2015. A slight majority feel that the Government should go ahead with the proposed €2bn adjustment,” Deloitte stated yesterday in its latest chief financial officers survey, covering sentiment in the second quarter of the year.