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

In a famous quip a few years ago the Minister for Finance, Deputy Michael Noonan, asked the then Minister for Finance, the late Brian Lenihan, what he had against the third child. What does the Minister have against young mothers? Only three months ago he introduced tax at the marginal rate on maternity benefit, taking up to €108 a week out of their pockets. Today the Government is taking another €32 a week out of those same women's pockets. That is a cut of €140 a week from the pockets of women who have just given birth to babies. From where is this coming? What is the logic? I cannot understand it. The strategy behind the budget seems to be to divide and conquer, isolate the weaker sections of society and those on the margins and to do so in a way that maximises political advantage for Fine Gael and the Labour Party.

In recent days we were bombarded with spin from the Government parties that the coping classes, those who pay for everything, as they put it, would be given a break in this budget.

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