Above: John McCarthy, Principal Officer of Economic Division at the Department of Finance at yesterday’s technical briefing on the Medium Term Fiscal Statement.
There will be no extra austerity beyond the €3.5 billion already planned for next month’s budget despite a substantial downgrad in the Government’s growth outlook.
In its Medium-Term Fiscal Statement, released by the Department of Finance yesterday, the Government said “all options” were being considered for the budget, including social welfare cuts, a broadening of PRSI and a reduction in the public sector pay bill.
For 2013, the Department of Finance has downgraded its gross domestic product growth forecast by 0.75 of a percentage point to 1.5 per cent, reflecting both sluggish domestic spending and a worrying international economic backdrop.
So, just the social welfare cuts, increased PRSI and public sector pay cuts then.
*Yay*
(Mark Stedman/Photocall Ireland)