Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

The Government will make decisions in regard to the figures at its meeting following their publication and we will come into the House next week to set out our broad budgetary strategy based on them. That is an expeditious, sensible and orderly manner in which to conduct Government business. We will not anticipate those decisions until they are taken. That is the position. The Government has been indicating that, with tax revenues down, we will work within the broad budgetary parameters we have set for ourselves, which means that in the short term, as we know, there will be a deterioration in the public finances this year because tax revenues will not meet the predicted level. Our growth rate will not reach the predicted level because of the situation affecting every country, not only Ireland.

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