With an upcoming draconian budget the Irish government has predicted that the number of people leaving Ireland will increase by 100,000 in the next four years.
The news comes amid the Department of Finance's confirmation that the government intends to seek $8bn (€6 bn) adjustments in the upcoming December budget.
$6bn (€4.5bn) will be sought through spending cuts and the remaining $2bn (€1.5bn) will be raised through new taxation, finance minister Brian Lenihan said in a statement yesterday.
“The Government has decided that a consolidation package of €15 billion will be required over the course of the next four years if we are to deliver on our deficit reduction target,” Lenihan said.
"A significant front loading of the consolidation in 2011 is deemed necessary and will underline the strength of our resolve and show that the country is serious about tackling our public finance difficulties."
The $8bn budget is hoped will reduce the governments deficit to between 9.25 percent and 9.5 percent of GDP next year. They predict that unemployment will remain broadly unchanged at 13.24 percent.
Lenihan said that he wanted “to stress again the strength of the Government’s resolve to return the country to a sustainable fiscal position.
"I am well aware that such measures will impact on the living standards of everybody. But our spending and revenues must be more closely aligned. This is the only way to ensure the future economic well being of our society," he added.
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