No one should be fooled by Education Minister Ruairi Quinn’s U-turn on his own highly unpopular and utterly inappropriate proposal to cut resource teaching hours for children with special needs by a further 12%.

Education Minister Ruairi Quinn has received Cabinet approval for extra resources to reverse planned cuts to special needs education from September.

Labour backbenchers are pushing their ministers to introduce a higher rate of tax in this year’s budget for people earning over €65,000.

Transport Minister Leo Varadkar has warned his Cabinet colleagues to stop “worrying” people with budget kite-flying.

The Government has sufficient scope in its finances to make no further expenditure cuts in 2014, while also raising tax credits and social welfare payments by €5 per week, according to a leading advocacy group.