Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)

They are equally entitled to be served by the attentions of this Government in helping to remove some of the burden of the universal social charge. We have minimised, in so far as is possible, the spending reduction in social protection because we recognise that people are totally dependent on the support provided by the State to enable them to eat, keep themselves warm, provide shelter for themselves and their families, and bring up the next generation of Irish workers and citizens.

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