Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

It was an expression of the anger that people feel against a Government without any sense of fairness. After six long years of spending cuts and tax hikes, unemployment and emigration, bank bailouts and golden handshakes, people are saying that enough is enough. Today’s budget will be spun by the Government as a technical end to austerity but it will not end austerity for many ordinary people. Austerity is not simply about balancing the books, as it is the placing of the burden of the fiscal adjustment on those least able to pay. The Taoiseach is unaware of austerity because he did not have to feel it himself but it is a policy that makes ordinary hard-working people pay for the bad decisions and reckless behaviour of the few. It is deeply unfair and it does not work.

After almost four years in government, Fine Gael and Labour can no longer blame Fianna Fáil for the state of our economy or our society. Today there are 28,000 fewer young people in employment than when the Government took office. In the first six months-----

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