Minister: State finances no different than crisis facing families

A Minister of State says the country is not in a position to continue borrowing at the current rate of more than €400m a week.

December's budget is expected to impose pay cuts on public servants along with cuts to public services to save €4bn next year.

Conor Lenihan, the Minister of State with responsibilty for Science, Technology, Innovation and Natural Resources, has said there would be a smaller public service in the future in Ireland.

Regarding the crisis in the public finances Mr Lenihan said the situation is no different to that facing many households.

He said: "If you bring your weekly or monthly salary home and it turns out that in fact that weekly salary can't pay all the outgoings you might have - be they mortgage, car loan or God knows what - and that you then start borrowing to make up the difference, it's no different to that, there's lots of people who'll complicate it and blind you with economic science and the rest on this.

"If your outgoings exceed what you are taking in you do have to address it and it is better to address it early rather than late."

Meanwhile the Irish Congress of Trade Unions has called for a new tax rate of more than 54 percent on the wealthy and a one billion euro fund to be channeled into protecting and creating jobs.

SIPTU economist Marie Sherlock said: "We have a huge structural inbalance in our tax system at the moment built up over a long number of years because of the success of Fianna Fáil policies and there has to be some addressing of the income tax and other taxes."