A senior cabinet minister has given the clearest suggestion yet that the next Budget is not likely to impose a full 3.1 billion euro in adjustments.
Brendan Howlin says he believes Ireland can reach its EU deficit targets without needing to hit the public for a full 3.1 billion.
The public expenditure minister and his colleague Michael Noonan are set to brief cabinet next week on the state of the economy.
But Minister Howlin says there's no point imposing more austerity than is needed:
