Tánaiste: Pre-Budget leaks 'unfair'
Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore said to today that any repetition of a "season of kite-flying, rumours and leaks" on the Budget would not be fair on the public.
Minister Gilmore made the comments at the end of the Parliamentary Labour Party meeting in Co Kildare this afternoon.
He said that when the party will meets again at the same time next year, and will be on the eve of saying goodbye to the IMF.
Minister Gilmore has again refused to say if the pledge to protect social welfare rates and not to increase income tax in the Budget will stand.
He said that he hopes the Budget measures will be not be revealed until December.
"I hope that there won't be leaks coming out in advance of the Budget,"
"I think that, if we look at last year's experience, I think we had a story a day about what might or might not be in the Budget and most of it, of course, never appeared in the Budget.
"But it did create a lot of unease among people and I hope we don't see a repetition of that this year.
"I think it's not fair to people, and particularly, I think, elderly people."
