Pádraic McCormack (Galway West, Fine Gael)

She did not realise that the two Green Party Ministers were at the Cabinet when this budget was accepted. So much for Cabinet responsibility in this matter.

This morning we had the fifth climb-down and change in the qualification limits since the budget was announced. This had more to do with bringing dissenters back in line to support the Government amendment tomorrow than supporting the Fine Gael motion, as most had said they would on the airwaves.

If the Government had any concern for the elderly, it would have abandoned this budget. I was at St. Andrew's Church with 500 or 600 people. Despite what was reported on the "News At One", that Age Action Ireland had welcomed the Minister's climbdown, not one of the speakers in an hour and a half welcomed it. Every speaker castigated the Government. They said that they will wait and, unlike on previous occasions, they will remember this when going into the voting booth at a general election, which cannot be too far away by the way the Government has performed in the past few days.

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