Vol. 397 No. 1
51 Mr. Dukes asked the Minister for Finance the steps, if any, he has taken to ascertain the source or sources of information which led to accurate details of budget measures being broadcast in advance of the 1990 budget; and the measures, if any, he intends to take to avoid a repetition of this sort of situation.
78 Mr. Deasy asked the Minister for Finance if he is satisfied that part, or all, of the Budget Statement was leaked; and, if so, the action he is taking to trace the source of the leak.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 51 and 78 together.
I have asked the Secretary of my Department to report to me on the security arrangements in relation to the Budget Statement and he has confirmed that there was no breach of the traditional very tight security involved in producing this document. I am further satisfied that there was no breach of secrecy among the small number of senior officials involved in preparing the budget measures.
In the weeks before the budget there is always extensive speculation in the media about what it is likely to contain. Since almost every option is covered in the speculation, inevitably some of the forecasts are likely to be correct.
