Economic growth of 3% this year and in 2015

Finance minister Michael Noonan has told a gathering of Fine Gael parliamentarians that the parameters for the budget had not yet been set, despite ongoing speculation.

Mr Noonan was speaking at the first session of the Fine Gael think-in at Fota Island resort, ahead of the beginning of the new Dáil term.

Earlier, he told reporters that the economy would grow by 3% in 2015, an upgrade that follows on from a fall in unemployment below the EU average and a rise in retail sales and exports.