Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Thank you, a Cheann Comhairle. Yes, indeed, this is a difficult budget. I do not recall anyone on the Government benches at any stage saying other than it would be a difficult budget. The challenge confronting the Government was taking €3.5 billion out of the economy, an action with which Fianna Fáil agrees. It ought to agree with it because it negotiated it when it handed over control and direction of economic affairs outside of the country. The Government was confronted with doing this in a balanced way which protects the most vulnerable while stimulating greater employment growth in the economy. Achievements have been made in protecting core social welfare rates, protecting the pupil-teacher ratio to ensure there will be more teachers in the classroom because of demographics-----

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