It’s budget day at last. This year it looks to be the tightest budget for a number of years, but will the Government have a rabbit to pull out of its hat? Here is what we expect so far, while our reporters ask a number of people what they want from the Government this year.

Here is how The Irish Times will be covering the event, while in his column, Hugh Linehan looks at how the budget has changed as media has changed.

Also on the budget, the Government would have to spend more than €3 billion next year just to maintain existing levels of day-to-day service before any new policy measures are announced in Tuesday’s budget, the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) has said. Ian Curran reports.