McGrath 'will not be bullied' over budget

Finance Minister was responding to call by Fine Gael junior ministers call for €1,000 tax cut

Finance Minister Michael McGrath said he would meet with his officials on Wednesday to examine which tax measures he will take in his first budget as Finance Minister. Picture: Sam Boal/Rollingnews.ie

Finance Minister Michael McGrath insists he will not be bullied over the shape of this year's budget by his coalition partners.

Mr McGrath was speaking after a trio of Fine Gael junior ministers — Jennifer Carroll McNeill, Martin Heydon and Peter Burke — wrote an op-ed for the Irish Independent arguing the budget should include a €1,000 tax cut for workers, an idea that was slammed as "nuts" by senior Fianna Fáil figures.