Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Budget 2014 is deeply dishonest. It is littered with broken promises. The programme for Government promised not to cut social welfare rates. The Labour Party claims protecting social welfare is one of its main achievements and is one of its main reasons for being in government. This week this promise has been broken again. Hiding behind the deplorable record of Fianna Fáil really is no defence. The jobseeker's allowance payment for young people has been cut, as has invalidity pension. These are core social welfare payments and they have been cut so the Government has broken its promise. When Fianna Fáil first cut jobseekers for those under 25 in 2009 the response of the Labour Party was to state the cut was offensive and intended to promote emigration, and the party, justifiably at the time, accused Fianna Fáil of putting the squeeze on young people and making them pay for the recession. My, how its tune has changed. This morning the Tánaiste's colleague, Deputy Eamonn Maloney, as quoted in today's newspapers, justified these cuts. He wishes to save the young people of Tallaght from watching flat screen televisions seven days a week. The Tánaiste's party colleague blames young people for their unemployment.

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