Rabbitte: €3.6bn from economy enough

LABOUR Minister Pat Rabbitte said he is not in favour of taking more than €3.6bn out of the economy in the coming budget, contrary to indications from Finance Minister Michael Noonan and advice from various bodies to increase this substantially.

The Fiscal Advisory Council this week said €4bn worth of extra taxes and cuts were needed to meet the deficit target of 8.6% of GDP with an additional €400 million as a cushion to restore investor confidence in the country.

Mr Noonan said he accepted that it would take more than €3.6bn to meet the deficit target agreed in the bailout deal but he was less convinced of the need to take the additional sum as suggested by the independent body set up in July to assess budgetary figures.