Budget giveaway ‘would break rules’

The severe reprimand comes as analysts said that exchequer receipts published yesterday showing buoyant tax revenues for May mean that the Coalition is on course to collect a huge bounty of up to €2.5bn for giveaways in its October budget ahead of the election.
The Department of Finance laid out plans in April for an expansionary budget of €1.2bn, split evenly between tax cuts and spending increases.