James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)

An additional €100 million or €200 million from that source would not have gone astray. Instead, however, the Government went after the elderly whom it perceived as the soft option.

This was a lazy budget, but its laziness reveals the true face of the Government. It is a Government that talks about protecting the elderly, the vulnerable and the young but let us look at what it does. It performed a dawn raid on the elderly, taking their medical cards from them at a time when their pensions have evaporated in the turmoil of the international markets. This is the Government that failed to support the elderly with the long-term nursing home legislation which has been repeatedly promised and which has signalled its intention to impose an additional €200 a week on nursing home costs by reducing the relevant tax relief.

This is the Government whose meanness is personified by the removal of the disabled person's allowance from children aged 16 to 18 years and its replacement with the domiciliary care allowance, resulting in an annual loss of €6,000 to the families concerned.

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