IMF warns Government not to slip on committed budget cuts

Budget hawks in the Government got strong support from the IMF as it warned there must be no slipping on the budget cuts the country has committed to under its bailout programme.

They have given Finance Minister Michael Noonan a very little leeway, saying that the total cuts of €5.1 billion in the budget for the next two years could be divided between 2014 and 2015 — but the full total must be achieved.

Craig Beaumont, the IMF’s mission chief, said that the bigger sum should be deducted from the budget to be announced by the minister later this month, and a smaller sum in 2015.