Brendan Howlin: Resources will remain scarce

Public Expenditure Minister Brendan Howlin has warned that Ireland’s resources will remain an issue for some time to come because of the vast scale of our economic collapse.

The warning by the Labour minister comes as debate heightens around the potential for tax cuts and employers face pressure to give workers pay rises.

Mr Howlin pointed out that public service numbers had decreased by 30,000 since 2008 and that pay in that sector had fallen by over €3bn to €14bn by last year.