Much ado about nothing as Paschal Donohoe plans first Budget as finance minister

Announcing his much-awaited summer economic statement, Mr Donohoe set out his stall for his first Budget as finance minister and it was very much a case of much ado about nothing.

The amount of extra money he will have to spend is so small it is barely of consequence.

While headline figures say he has an additional €1.5bn to spend, once previous commitments and the new public sector pay deal are covered, the new spending budget is no more than €330m to €350m.