The public expenditure minister has warned that there are no easy measures left to take in the Budget.
Brendan Howlin says successive years of challenging budgets mean there are no obvious options for cutting back on spending.
Ministers are meeting this morning to sign off on a headline figure for the Budget, thought to be just under €3 billion.
But the minister says the public probably won't feel the benefit of any wriggle room
He says "any further tax increases are all challenging and difficult"
