Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

We are at a very early stage of the budgetary process. The budget will be announced in October and we will have a much clearer picture in six or seven weeks when the schools reopen. We will then be dealing with concrete numbers rather than estimates. My Department will have discussions with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform in September and we will have a much firmer base of figures with which to argue. No decisions have been made as yet about any of the options.