The Secretary General of the Department of Finance has left open the possibility of a tougher than planned budget because we will have to downgrade growth prospects for this year and next.
John Moran’s claims come after the European Union says growth this year will be just 0.4% per cent - less than the 0.7% in the government's predictions.
And growth for next year at just 1.1% is half what the coalition is currently predicting.
Moran says new lower figures are going before the Economic Management Council this evening.
He also admitted to Fianna Fáil's Michael McGrath at the Dáil Finance Committee that the lower figures could mean a tougher budget in December.
“I think we would prefer to actually finalise the numbers and see where we go. There are a lot of moving parts, not least the cost of interest on the finances of the state which itself is moving based on significant progress in the last couple of months.
“There is a lot of variance in terms of how we actually finalise the exact number of what is required.”