New figures to signal €4bn of tax hikes and cutbacks
THE Government will today clearly signal painful tax hikes and spending cuts totalling between €3.5bn to €4bn in next week's emergency Budget.
And it will be forced to borrow a further €1.5bn to €2bn on top of this just to balance the books.
The Department of Finance will today publish its predictions of the state of the public finances for the rest of the year, before the Budget measures come into effect.
Along with these pre-Budget estimates, it will also release tax and spending figures for the first half of the year.
The Exchequer returns for the first quarter of the year will reveal how the economy has performed and if there was any further deterioration in March.
The delicate balancing act to be executed by the Government is being made even more difficult by the continued rise in unemployment.
The numbers on the dole queues is set to break the 500,000 mark by the end of the year.
Unemployment has now soared to almost 11pc after 17,000 more jobless joined the dole queues last month.
Some 371,300 are now signing on to the Live Register.
The Government has already flagged that tax revenue will be €3bn lower than was anticipated at the start of the year. The social welfare bill, arising from the increase in dole payments, is also expected to be nearly
- Fionnan Sheahan
