Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)

I welcome any informed debate on the budgetary process but not the manipulation of that to hide from the people before the Dublin West by-election and the presidential election the real truth of the savage cuts the Taoiseach is promising. He promised, and the Minister for Finance promised earlier, that this would be published in October. I ask the Taoiseach to publish now and to bring forward the date from that which he indicated yesterday.

By the way, it would perhaps do us all a favour in getting the media to pass on the real concerns and issues facing our people and away from this tiresome parade of personalities and vision makers that passes for a presidential campaign, which fills newspapers endlessly.

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