Worst is over but €4bn cuts still needed

THE country’s main think-tank says the worst is over but that the Government’s budget cuts should be closer to €4 billion than €3.6bn.

The Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) believes the economy has “bottomed out” and predicted we are not facing a double dip recession.

Its latest economic forecast, out today, has scaled back its earlier predictions of growth, saying “great uncertainty” over what is to come has dampened consumer spending.