Vol. 557 No. 1
210 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Finance the stage at which it became obvious that the projections outlined in the 2001 budget were unlikely to be achieved; the action taken to address the situation at that point; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21616/02]
The target for the 2001 Exchequer balance as set out in budget 2001 was for an Exchequer surplus of €3,222 million. The equivalent target for the general Government balance was for a surplus of €4,952 million or 4.3% of GDP.
The outturn for the Exchequer balance was a surplus of €650 million while the general Government balance outturn was a surplus of €1,776 million or 1.6% of GDP. The deterioration became obvious from the middle of 2001 as economic growth slowed. However, despite the worsening of the domestic and international economic climate throughout most of last year, I remained confident that both an Exchequer surplus and a general Government surplus would be achieved in 2001 and this proved to be the case.
