Paudge Connolly (Cavan-Monaghan, Independent)

It is regrettable that we must wait 12 months for it.

The old reliables were not touched and I welcome the fact that petrol and diesel, fuels that are needed to get people to and from work, were not increased. Year after year, however, cigarette duty was increased for different reasons, principally because they were bad for our health. Once, the price of a packet of cigarettes was increased by 50 cent, which was meant to go to the health services. I do not know if it ever reached the health service but it had no impact if it did. This year we discover that the revenue from cigarettes is falling so I am surprised that the duty was not lowered to achieve a higher tax yield from them. If we were really sincere in wanting people to give up cigarettes or concerned about their effect on our health, we would have increased the price of a packet of cigarettes to encourage people to give them up, in tandem with the ban on smoking in the workplace.

The contribution made by carers to society was largely ignored in the budget. There are also other schemes, such as the rural transport initiative, that are of great social benefit and enjoy a high level of praise, that deserve more funding.

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