Irish 2016 budget deficit may be as low as 0.7 percent - finance minister

DUBLIN (Reuters) - Ireland's budget deficit may fall as low as 0.7 percent this year, down from an earlier forecast of 0.9 percent, thanks to strong tax revenues, Finance Minister Michael Noonan said on Monday. The deficit will fall to at least as low as 0.8 percent and possibly 0.7 percent, Noonan told journalists on the sidelines of a book launch in Dublin, his spokesman said. The budget deficit was 2.3 percent last year, down from a peak of 14 percent in 2009. (Reporting by Conor Humphries; editing by Andrew Roche)