Noonan refuses to rule out early mini-budget

FINANCE Minister Michael Noonan has hinted at a mini-budget by June to meet the cost of promises in the Programme for Government.

Refusing to rule out an early budget under Dáil questioning, Mr Noonan said the Cabinet will consider ways to cut spending or raise taxes in the coming weeks, to meet the costs of a jobs fund promised within the first 100 days of office.

He said the Department of Finance is currently “examining a range of measures” to “counter-balance” the cost of pre-budget promises which will have to be revenue-neutral under the EU-IMF bailout deal.