THE GOVERNMENT IS not planning a mini-budget to introduce additional fiscal cuts this summer, junior minister Brian Hayes has said.
Hayes said the Government was engaged in a “difficult balancing act” and believed further austerity measures at this stage could disrupt the economy.
The Irish Fiscal Advisory Council yesterday warned that Ireland could require interim measures to introduce additional cuts or tax increases of up to €400million, before the scheduled Budget in December.
However, the Minister of State at the Department of Finance dismissed the recommendation from the Government’s official Budget think-tank while speaking on Newstalk Breakfast.
Brian Hayes said the Government was “taking what they [the Council] say seriously”, but they believed that Ireland would be able to reach its deficit targets based on the measures introduced in last December’s Budget.
“For 2012, the key requirement is to get the deficit down to 8.6 per cent,” he said.
We feel that the tax rises and cuts announced in the budget will get there. I think a further cutting exercise would harm the economy at a time when that delicate balancing act would have to be upheld.
Hayes said Ireland’s economy had “effectively collapsed” and this meant extreme caution was necessary when introducing cuts or tax increases.
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