Brian O'Shea (Waterford, Labour)

-----which nobody reads or wants to read in the Irish language. It would be much more in the interests of the Irish language and of the Gaeltacht for savings to be made in this area so that the much used schemes, na scéimeanna tithíochta Gaeltachta, could continue to accept applications in the normal way.

The Christmas bonus has been abolished, which is an awful departure. People under 20 in receipt of the jobseeker's allowance have had their payment halved. Tax exiles are getting another Christmas bonus because they will not be taxed. Social solidarity is totally absent from what the Government has proposed and there are major problems as a result. My colleague, Deputy Joan Burton, and our party leader, Deputy Eamon Gilmore, made the real point - that there is no basis here for a recovery. This budget amounts to cutbacks and nothing else.

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