MINISTER FOR Social Protection Éamon Ó Cuív yesterday appeared to indicate the scale of planned cuts in the forthcoming budget will be of the order of €4.3 billion.
Speaking outside a pre-budget forum for NGOs and charities, he responded to questions about the Green Party proposal for an all-party approach to dealing with the country’s finances.
“We will have a month, once we ourselves get the data, to discuss how we will achieve the 4.3, sorry, the three per cent of GDP target that we need to achieve.”
When the apparent slip was later pointed out to Taoiseach Brian Cowen, he said: “There are no decisions taken at this point.”