Marc MacSharry (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Our pre-budget submission contained recommendations on how to achieve the ¤3.5 billion in savings contained in the budget and produce a higher tax yield. Under those recommendations, child benefit, maternity benefit and the back to school allowance would have been protected. Colleagues will refer to the propaganda engaged in by the Labour Party prior to the general election. I have previously described the Labour Party's behaviour at that time as the biggest single act of political delinquency in the history of the State.