Crowds start to gather outside Leinster House ahead of Budget

There is a large security operation in force around Dublin city centre ahead of this afternoon's Budget.

Gardaí are out in force, fearful of a repeat of the protests seen on the first day of the Dáil term last month.

Several thousand protestors are expected to stage demonstrations on Molesworth Street, which has been sealed off to traffic.

Crowd control barriers are in place outside Leinster House and Government Buildings and the European Commission and European Parliament Buildings.

However, there have been no incidents so far.

These people are among the small number of protestors who have gathered outside Leinster House.