Seanad debates

Wednesday, 1 December 2004

Budget Statement 2005: Motion.

 

6:00 pm

Photo of James BannonJames Bannon (Fine Gael)

I welcome the Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children, Deputy O'Malley, to the House to take this debate. With the guillotine looming and the sound of anger echoing through the country the Government has been forced to recognise the wrath of the people and is seeking to appease them in this budget with attempts to reach out to voters who rejected the coalition Government in the local and European Parliament elections. The Minister for Finance, Deputy Cowen, is attempting to bury the McCreevy image. However, in terms of the reality of people's lives, he has not succeeded.

For the past seven years this Government has ignored the marginalised, the poor, the ill, the disabled, the elderly and carers. Something we expected in today's budget was the abolition of the means test for carers. That has not happened. The voices of these people were heard loud and clear in last June's elections. The results for Fianna Fáil were the worst ever in a local election since 1927.

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