Surplus still on track, insists McCreevy

A BULLISH Charlie McCreevy last night said he will keep public finances in the black, despite being told by the EU that he cannot use a 610 million euro windfall from the euro changeover.

The European Union's decree is the latest in a series of setbacks which threaten to derail Minister McCreevy's initial projection of an 837m euro budget surplus. It comes on top of an expected 500m euro shortfall in tax returns and a dramatic downturn in the economy.

The ruling from the EU's statistical office, Eurostat, means old money not returned or converted to euro cannot be used to offset deficits when the Government's books are being balanced.