Burton: Welfare cuts will hurt

The opening shots in the Cabinet budget battle have been fired with Social Protection Minister Joan Burton warning welfare cuts would damage the economic recovery.

As horse-trading ahead of the earlier than normal October financial statement begin, Ms Burton said expected savings of €440m in her funding for next year could prove problematic.

“I think it would be difficult, to be perfectly honest, to look at that kind of money being taken out of the economy,” Ms Burton told Newstalk Breakfast.