“Ireland laid out plans to narrow its budget deficit as voters braced for a fourth year of austerity amid concerns that the future of the euro may be in jeopardy.”

“Health, education and welfare spending will bear the brunt of about 2.2 billion euros ($2.9 billion) of cuts, Expenditure Minister Brendan Howlin said today. Public spending will fall about 10 percent to just under 52 billion euros between 2011 and 2014, he said. Finance Minister Michael Noonan is scheduled to outline about 1.6 billion euros of tax increases tomorrow.”

“’Twelve months ago we were Europe’s problem,’ Howlin told lawmakers in parliament in Dublin. ‘Now problems in the European and global economy threaten our recovery.’”

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