Budget 2013 - Worst fears allayed, jobs main focus

Yesterday’s budget, the sixth austerity package in five years, continued the process of trying to restore some sanity to our public finances without introducing any measures so radical that it might threaten the Coalition’s immediate future.

Whether the package wins the popular support required to give it the moral authority it needs, in an ideal world at least, remains to be seen. However, there is hardly a measure proposed that will facilitate a game-changing salvo from the opposition. Most had been signalled, drip-by-drip, over recent weeks so the potential of any cumulative impact had been dissipated long before the speeches began yesterday afternoon.

The objective was to save €3.5bn next year, with tax changes accounting for €1.25bn of that and the balance — €2.25bn — coming through spending cuts. There was too a significant and welcome emphasis on trying to create an environment where small to medium businesses might sustain if not create employment.