Aideen Hayden (Labour) | Oireachtas source

-----we would have been obliged to find an additional €400 million in expenditure savings. Let us not forget that for every €1 spent on social welfare, there is an impact of €7 for the domestic economy. That is a very important statistic. There are many people sitting at home today who are relieved there are no increases in the universal social charge, in the significant VAT rates or in excise duty on petrol, diesel and home heating oil as we face into the winter. None of these points has been made by the Opposition.

Reference was made to our success in protecting the 9% VAT rate for the tourism sector, which has generated 15,000 jobs to date.