Budget ‘to mark decisive shift’ in fortunes

A package aimed at bolstering economic growth and raising the living standards of an austerity-weary public will be unveiled today in the first budget in seven years not to cut overall spending.

The Government will argue it marks a “decisive shift” in the economic fortunes of the country, and is a sign that the decisions made to date have stabilised the public finances and thereby paid off.

After a period in which €30bn was taken out of the economy, there will, for the first time since 2007, be a spending increase of around €600m, bringing the deficit, or sum borrowed, to well within the target of 3% of GDP.