Michael Mulcahy (Dublin South Central, Fianna Fail)

Many of my constituents rely on social welfare payments and will welcome the increases to which I refer. In addition, they will also welcome the other social welfare measures announced by the Minister for Finance in the budget.

I do not believe the budget is perfect. No budget can be. There are many areas in respect of which I would like to see improvements. For example, medical card eligibility should be hugely extended. More money should be made available in respect of orthodontic——

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