Giveaway political budget is on the cards despite the Brexit threat

The Irish economic releases have been a mix of the good and the bad.

On the positive side, the exchequer returns for the first half of the year showed the State had an overall budget surplus of €260m, an improvement of €1.1bn on the same period last year. This should, in theory, provide the Government with more room to deliver a giveaway political budget on October 8, and still keep the public finances in balance.