Joe O'Toole (Independent)

Another one. Some years ago, an American politician was doing an interview on RTE and said, "You put a billion here and a billion there and shortly you're talking about serious money". We all fell around laughing because we did not understand what a billion was. Nobody was laughing today, however, even though billions were going in all directions.

This is a good budget and I welcome its overall provisions. In particular, I welcome the continuing commitment to the minimum wage. I argued long and hard to negotiate that wage some four or five years ago. It was difficult to achieve so I am glad the increase has been delivered, which I welcome.

Looking down through the Budget Statement, one sees something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue.