Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)

The Government has chosen the easy way out again. It chose to target the vulnerable rather than risk upsetting the powerful vested interests by introducing radical reform.

This budget is incredibly harsh on low and middle-income families. Under the Government's proposal a family with one earner and three children earning €40,000 a year will see its annual income fall by almost €1,700. The same family's after-tax income would have been €1,500 per year better off under Fine Gael's alternative plan, which also saw the deficit being reduced by €6 billion. The Taoiseach did not give any credit for the acceptance of the targets over a four year period by my party.

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