Darragh O'Brien (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Leader should arrange a meeting with the Fine Gael and Labour Party Senators to discuss the issue. The reason time is required for further debate is that while the budget was announced yesterday, it was only late last night or early today that people came to understand what it really means. I will give an example. The respite care grant has been cut. This is reminiscent of the cut to the disability allowance last year, a decision the Government had to reverse.

I am asking Senators of good conscience to ensure this cut does not proceed in any shape or form. This 20% cut in the respite care grant will affect more than 70,000 families in this country, 5,000 of whom depend on it solely as the only grant they get from the State.

Nobody can tell me this budget is grounded in fairness, as it should be. I have given only one example but the budget is not fair, in any way, shape or form. In addition, the Government did not reverse the home help cuts of 950,000 hours it brought in last year - it made no mention of them yesterday. Senator Kelly can shake his head all he likes. It is a fact.

There was that cut, the cut to the respite care grant and the cut of ¤10 to child benefit. There was a Labour Party promise on the last named but I am sick of talking about those promises because they mean nothing.