Noonan commits to more budget austerity

Another austerity budget this autumn has been signalled by Finance Minister Michael Noonan despite the economic recovery creating jobs faster than expected.

While growth forecasts for the year only nudged up 0.1% to 2.1%, new Government predictions show employment growing by an extra 42,000 jobs this year, up from a 30,000 target set at last October’s budget.

However, Mr Noonan remained cautious, stating that an adjustment of €2bn in tax hikes and spending cuts would still be needed in the next budget to stay on course to bring the State’s funding deficit down to 3%.