Very bumpy ride ahead as budget looms large

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

The subtext of his mantra was that the worst is yet to come — hardly the rallying cry we wanted to hear.

The Finance Minister insisted growth would average 2.75% down to 2014 taking into account the €15bn that will be sucked out of the economy via spending cuts and tax hikes — but his department has been so repeatedly wrong in the past it is probably best not to bank on it to heavily.