Parties jostling for moral high ground ahead of budget

Pension rises top the list of differences before budget, writes Political Correspondent Fiachra Ó Cionnaith

FINE GAEL and Fianna Fáil are set for an 11th-hour budget battle after it emerged pension increases may be delayed until early summer 2017 to allow similar increases for people with disabilities, widows and carers.

Social Protection Minister Leo Varadkar clashed with Fianna Fáil’s finance spokesman Michael McGrath and public expenditure spokesman Dara Calleary yesterday as both parties attempted to gain the electoral upper hand before the financial package is revealed on Tuesday.