Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)

Why does he protect the status quo? It seems from the carry-on of his party to date that his priority is more about elevating his own position of power than worrying about the little people on whose backs it climbed to get to power. The Minister says his budgetary measures are necessary, but what alternatives did he pursue? Tomorrow the Minister for Finance will set out the Government's taxation measures. Last month we published our pre-budget 2012 submission which set out an entirely different approach to the State's finances.

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