There will be no ‘show time’ on Budget Day, Taoiseach Enda Kenny told a dinner gathering of business folk.

The ECB and European Commission has said the Government needs to be ready to impose more austerity measures if needed.

A lucky couple from the Midlands are celebrating after collecting €350,000 from Lotto Headquarters on Budget Day.

Irish Euromillions players will again be hoping to beat the odds to win tonight's €140m antiodote to Budget Day.

THE Fine Gael TD was recalling the uncertainty and fear that existed when the Coalition came to power in February 2011. “Three and a half years ago we didn’t know where the bottom was. We were still tumbling,” recalled the deputy.

With just three weeks to go until Budget Day, the question of tax relief hangs over this morning’s Cabinet meeting.

Around 2000BC, Egyptian tax officials came up with a clever wheeze.

To mark the end of the elections, Dave Kenny picks the top 10 political gaffes of all time

A COMPLETE and total poverty of imagination.

With less then a week to go until Budget Day, it is understood that the Cabinet is considering introducing a property tax which will be based on 0.2% of the value of the property.

More than 10,000 people have marched through Dublin City Centre, warning the Government not to impose further cutbacks or increase taxes in December's Budget.

Social Justice Ireland will reveal its alternative budget today in an effort to influence the Government ahead of Budget Day in December.

Eoghan Murphy says Budget Day should be the most boring day in the year, writes political editor Paul O’Brien.

IT'S a strange enough sign of the times but the word “austerity” seems to trip off the tongue far more regularly than expressions like “tax breaks” or even “cash back”.

A Garda officer sustained minor injuries during a Sinn Féin protest marking the one-year anniversary of the IMF bailout today.

The Government can try to spin it as reform by its own volition but the truth is that our dire financial situation is the driving force behind these cuts, writes Political Editor Paul O’Brien

The Union of Students in Ireland has said any plans by the Government to scrap grants for post-graduate students would be counter-productive.

Hikes in VAT, excise duties and carbon taxes are all likely in the massive €3.8bn savings package in the forthcoming Budget.

FINE Gael leader Enda Kenny was the victim of a satirical ambush on Tuesday night as he addressed supporters in county Leitrim.

A property developer accused of dangerous driving for allegedly parking a cherry picker outside Leinster House on Budget Day has been remanded on continuing bail pending directions from the DPP.

A lone protester was arrested today after he arrived at the gates of Leinster House in a crane to mark the start of Budget day.

Campaigners seeking to defend the State pension from being cut on Budget Day are delivering a petition to the Government today.

Barnardos is reiterating its call for the Government to spare the country's most vulnerable people on Budget Day.

BRIAN LENIHAN moved to put a floor under the economic freefall last night — but after so many false figures, can anyone believe him?

THE question of whether or not Taoiseach Brian Cowen was hungover during his interview with Morning Ireland was not as serious as his failure to grasp the significance and seriousness of such outings.

BRIAN COWEN’S sudden defence of his record raises a number of questions. Such as why now? And does it stack up?

A PRE-BUDGET debate will take place in the Dáil on November 17, but its value is being questioned.

MORE than a million people will be affected by the Government’s decision to scrap the Christmas social welfare bonus, and some will be forced into the hands of moneylenders, Labour has warned.

WHAT a mess. It can be argued that the current economic downturn has relatively little to do with the Government, and that the measures announced were a legitimate response to the need to save money in tougher times. But what can’t be denied is the devastating picture the measures paint of government decision- making in a number of areas.

FIRST-TIME buyers who bought houses between December and April are to lose out on a rebate of more than €27 million because of Finance Minister Brian Cowen’s refusal to backdate a stamp duty exemption to the budget.

ONLY 4% of the 10,000 civil servants earmarked for decentralisation had actually transferred out of Dublin at the beginning of this month, the date by which the entire programme was to be completed.

Speculation is growing that the Minister for Finance will not now be splashing out on Budget Day.

One of the biggest events in the political calendar, Budget Day is an annual ritual that has changed little over the years.

IRELAND’S EU Commissioner Charlie McCreevy yesterday stood over his decision to announce an ambitious decentralisation programme in his last Budget as Finance Minister two years ago.

FINANCE Minister Brian Cowen fired a muted but unmistakable election volley yesterday when he unveiled the Estimates for 2006 outlining extra Government spending in key problem areas of education, justice and health.

FINE GAEL leader Enda Kenny yesterday set out the party’s general election priorities and promised to canvass every town and village in the country over the summer.

THE pattern of annual tax miscalculation by the Department of Finance has been well established.

By Paul O’Brien and Claire O’Sullivan

ABOUT €225m appears to have gone missing from childcare funding in just over a week as massive differences emerged between claims made on Budget Day and an announcement by the minister in charge yesterday.

FINANCE Minister Brian Cowen got it in the neck on Budget Day from organisations such as SIPTU, the National Women’s Council and the Chambers of Commerce of Ireland (CCI) for neglecting the childcare issue.

OPPOSITION parties yesterday began a more robust attack on Finance Minister Brian Cowen’s first Budget, after a comparatively muted response on Budget Day.

FINANCE Minister Brian Cowen delivered a seemingly generous spending programme for 2005 yesterday - but it came with a nasty sting in the tail.