Ireland's new finance minister Paschal Donohoe reaffirmed on Wednesday an economic growth forecast for 2017 of 4.3% but said he would cut savings into a planned rainy day fund to 500 million euros from 1 billion euros.

Donohoe said he expected the economy to grow by 3.7% in 2018.

Donohoe's predecessor Michael Noonan last year pledged to save 1 billion euros a year in the new "rainy day fund" once Ireland's budget is balanced in 2019. Donohoe told Ireland's RTE radio he planned to cut that to 500 million euros to allow for more capital investment.

Donohoe said in a radio interview that the economy would grow by "around 4%" this year, but later clarified that his ministry still expected the economy to grow by 4.3". (Reuters)

Source: www.businessworld.ie