Borrowings 3% more than GDP

THE government’s borrowings this year will be more than 3% of GDP and will breach the EU’s guidelines, Finance Minister Brian Lenihan has warned.

The speed of the slowdown has taken both the Government and the European Commission by surprise, he said, with economic growth plummeting to close to zero from more than 4% last year and with a €5 billion shortfall.

Mr Lenihan said the Government will continue to roll-out the €184bn National Development Plan, but warned that it will not be as quickly as originally proposed.