McCreevy denies split with EU over budget

Finance Minister Charlie McCreevy has denied that today's European Commission reprimand of Ireland's last budget will damage Irish-EU relations.

Minister McCreevy was in Brussels to defend his budget before the European Parliament's Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee in Brussels.

He told the Committee that the downturn in the US economy meant it was unlikely that the Irish economy would now overheat.

He added that he was amused that Ireland was the first country to be criticised for breaching economic policy guidelines.