The Government look set to introduce a 'Spring Statement' in 2015. This would be a mini-Budget - similar to the UK government's autumn statement last month.

It is believed that the Government hope that the growing economy will put it in a position where it will be able to introduce new measures like tax cuts and welfare increases sooner than the Budget in October of next year.

This could help voters feel the benefits of economic growth well before spring 2016, when the next General Election is likely to take place. While the economy has recorded strong growth - wages have generally remained stagnant.

With a string of opinion polls showing that both coalition parties are continuing to lose support - and in light of the recent controversy over water charges - a further relaxing of austerity in spring next year could help Fine Gael and Labour convince the electorate that they have done a good job managing the economy.

After Budget 2015, the Government received criticism from bodies like The Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (IFAC) who warned that the country was prematurely moving away from austerity. 

While the economy is likely to grow by just under 5 percent this year, the IFAC and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have recently raised questions over the validity of such growth figures. Both bodies expressed concern that the high levels of 'contract manufacturing,' economic activity taking place in Ireland only on paper, and often for tax purposes.