Budget trading set to go down to the wire

Budget negotiations are set to go down to the wire on Tuesday night as ministers dig their heels in, with major concerns over Health Minister James Reilly’s ability to deliver on €900m of cuts.

It comes as the latest figures reveal that the ministerial advisers helping to shape Wednesday’s €3.5bn austerity package are themselves costing over €2.8m a year.

The Cabinet will meet again today at 4pm as efforts continue to hammer out an agreed combination of spending cuts and tax hikes.