€3.6bn find 'unlikely to affect Budget'

The discovery that our debt is €3.6bn less than previously thought, due to an "accounting error", is unlikely to impact the tough Budget on the way next month, it is believed.

Editor of The Sunday Business Post Cliff Taylor said it was unlikely the €3.6bn surprise find would have any major impact on Budget day.

"What the Budget is about is closing the gap between what we spend every year on government services and what we take in through taxes. This really would only affect that marginally," he said.

He added it was not yet clear whether interest payments had also been calculated twice, but that it would "be a marginal enough figure in the overall sum…Still, better to find it."