‘We knew when we went into Government harsh choices lay ahead’

LABOUR knew when it went into government that harsh budgetary decisions lay ahead, Public Expenditure Minister Brendan Howlin said after announcing €1.4 billion of cuts.

But he said the junior coalition party protected its pre-election commitments as best it could, despite breaking a promise on third-level fees and the children’s allowance.

Announcing cuts for 2012 in the first part of the two-day budget process, the minister said that “no government, whatever its numbers, wants to be the bearer of bad news” but its options were “extremely limited”.