Ministers refute criticisms of ‘election-buying’ budget by European Commission

Several Government minsters attempted to deny they were trying to “buy the election” in the wake of the European Commission’s heavy criticisms of last October’s budget.

The Government was accused of engaging in “disgraceful auction politics” in the Dáil after yesterday’s Irish Examiner revealed the EU Commission has concluded that the Government is putting the recovery at risk by political budgeting.

During Leaders’ Questions in the Dáil, Social Democrats TD Stephen Donnelly criticised Tánaiste Joan Burton and the Government’s decision to expand spending in the budget by more than €3.3bn, at a time when the economy was already growing strongly.