Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)

It comes back to the core issue in that what we propose is a cut in the rates. Difficult and all as that is - it is a very fine balancing act - it is about supporting young people and giving them an incentive to remain in education and training. It is working for 18 and 19 year olds and we believe it can work with older groups. It is about continuing to support carers and people with disabilities, while recognising that any cut we make will impact on them. Given the difficult circumstances in which we find ourselves, I regret to state we find ourselves with no choice.