Tough budget choices remain unavoidable

At some point in the next week or two, the government will adopt its budget strategy memorandum, and so signal the formal start of the process which will culminate in December with the budget.

This year, the memo will be proposed by both Minister for Finance Michael Noonan and Minister for Public Expenditure Brendan Howlin, reflecting the pivotal role that controlling and cutting public spending - a job removed from the once-mighty Department ...