Ivana Bacik (Independent)

It is important to see an extension of the career break scheme through the public service. The early retirement scheme is also useful. These innovative and welcome measures aside, the budget as a whole appears to be a very crude and blunt attempt to balance books through cutting public spending and raising taxes on incomes of ordinary families. The Minister may have attempted to sweeten the pill through token comments about the need to generate greater competitiveness and create more jobs but there is very little detail or substance in his plans. This is a real shame, a missed opportunity. There are no real ideas or proposals for stimulation of the economy. When have we ever seen an economy that has recovered through cutting spending and raising taxes? We need to see a stimulus plan too. Without that, this is a real lemon of a budget.