THE BUDGET OF NO HOPE
10 Dec 2009
Congress has condemned Budget 2010 as "too brutal, too quick and utterly without compassion."
Congress General Secretary David Begg said: "It offers no hope whatsoever to anyone. It will deflate the economy and will guarantee more job losses. We can also be certain that emigration will once again become a major feature of Irish society.
"I think they have pushed us closer to the cliff and once we go over there is only one direction we can go. Far from the worst being over, it is almost certain that the worst is yet to come."
Mr Begg said Budget 2010 was marked by a "criminal neglect of any serious initiative on jobs and job protection."
He said Budget 2010 "attacks working people, attacks the young, the unemployed and the low paid. It takes from those most in need and seeks only a minimal contribution from the wealthiest in society. In fact, changes in the tax regime for the richest act only as a fig leaf for this assault on working people and the vulnerable. It punishes people who are unemployed."
Mr Begg said the harsh measures contained in Budget 2010 would do untold damage to the social fabric of the country and contrasts sharply with the practice elsewhere in the EU "where Governments are increasing social protection to maintain living standards. Yet our Government is stripping away layer after layer of social protection at a time when people need it most."