Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Brendan Howlin has said he hopes Ireland has permanently broken the cycle of boom and bust.
Speaking ahead of this morning's Cabinet meeting, Mr Howlin said the country had gone through the most difficult period of economic recovery in the history of the State.
He said the Government had made "remarkable progress" in the past three years.
The minister said it had achieved the "base for recovery", a significant reduction in unemployment, and the country now had the capacity to plan for the future.
But he added that the Government "could not deliver in one Budget or even two or three".
Mr Howlin said detailed discussions on the Budget had not yet begun, but that each minister was currently setting their own priorities.
Taoiseach Enda Kenny said yesterday that no decisions had been made about the Budget, which will be delivered on 14 October.
