Fianna Fáil says it will not accept a major delay in increases to welfare payments like the state pension.

It is reported this morning that some of the increases to be announced in next week’s Budget will not kick-in in January.

Instead, some of the increases could be delayed until later in the year in an apparent bid to save on spending.

But Fianna Fáil’s Michael McGrath, says a delay into the middle of the year won’t be acceptable: “You know the normal arrangement is that measures announced on Budget day would kick in on the first of January and what has been floated is that it would be six months perhaps seven months, beyond that and we are saying that is not an option,

“We don’t think that is credible.”