The Finance Minister says there is room to be flexible in next month's Budget.

There had been reports that Michael Noonan is now prepared to impose less than the €3.1 billion target for new cuts and taxes set out by the Troika.

Labour says it wants a maximum adjustment of €2.5 billion.

Speaking as he arrived for this morning's Cabinet meeting, Michael Noonan said there is room for flexibility while stating that it's too early to nail down a specific figure.

He also reiterated the importance of Ireland sticking with its plan to exit the bailout this year:

Meanwhile Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore said the Government doesn't yet have the data needed to come up with a final figure:

Earlier the Finance Minister said the Central Statistics Office (CSO) figures which showed that the Irish economy grew by 0.4% in the second quarter of the year were no reason to "throw our hats in the air":