Harsh austerity budget still coming this year, Gilmore warns

A BITTER austerity budget is still on the way despite an improvement in Ireland’s debt tally, Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore warned last night.

The Labour leader also said he understood public anger at the massive pay-off of over €700,000 given to top civil servant Dermot McCarthy — but stopped short of asking the outgoing government secretary general to hand part of it back to the taxpayer.

At the end of Labour’s two-day think-in in Carlow, Mr Gilmore said ESRI predictions of better-than-forecast debt rates in the coming years were welcome, but signalled they would not make December’s budget less harsh.