Sign up to The Irish Times Archive (1859 - 2008)My Account »

THE LATEST set of exchequer returns hold out the prospect that the rot in the Government finances has been stopped. Tax revenues are broadly in line with the Government’s revised projections, some areas of taxation have come in ahead of forecast and others remain worryingly weak, but overall the position is no worse than had been expected.

The Government was quick yesterday to claim some credit, but it will become clearer in the coming months whether the drastic measures implemented in the April emergency Budget have truly been effective in stabilising the exchequer. There is some grounds for optimism at this stage in this regard.