Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

This budget day is one which many ordinary families have been dreading. They are looking to this House and Government for reassurance about their future. They want a Government that will lead them through this economic crisis in a fair and compassionate way. The harsh reality is that today's budget will put an unbearable financial burden on many families. This budget reaffirms the approach of a Government that has broken almost every promise it made to the people at the beginning of last year. People were looking to this budget for a sense of hope and for some sense that the Government understood what their lives are like. This Government has the numbers to put through whatever budgetary measures it wishes, but on the basis of what has been presented today, getting public acceptance of these measures will be a far greater challenge.

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