The government’s emergency Budget is piling injustice upon injustice taking huge amounts from people’s wages and salaries to support the banks while doing little to stop the haemorrhage in jobs.   This is an accountant’s budget rather than that of a creative government prioritising getting Ireland back to work.

Toireasa Ferris said:  “This budget is a budget which will benefit the banks to the tune of the billions that will be taken out of people’s wages by cuts and punitive levies. The government is nationalising debt and privatising profit.  The banks debts are being guaranteed at great risk to today's and future Irish generations.  At the same time those who are struggling to survive are being laboured with even more pain.”

“Nearly 100,000 people are unemployed across Munster. Retraining measures announced today wouldn’t even help all those who lost their jobs in January or February never mind the thousands who are unemployed.  The government has failed to address this crisis.  There was no innovative thinking.  No job creation strategy.  No proper proposals.   The €100 million enterprise fund will by-pass the vast majority of Irish small and medium business as it only focuses on firms already exporting. Thousands of small businesses are on their knees and the government has done nothing for them today.”

 “The failure in relation to job creation is staggering.  The government is cutting €200 million from the environment budget, principally social housing and water infrastructure.  They are cutting €54 million from the school build program.  They are cutting €13 million from Sustainable Energy and Energy research programs. €300 million will be cut from public transport.  If the government is serious about addressing the unemployment crisis and improving competitiveness they should be doing the exact opposite of what was announced today.”

The number one priority for any government at this point should be retaining and creating jobs. It should be getting Ireland back to work. Thousands of people across Munster will find their pay packets seriously reduced due to increased levies and taxes.  All this might be acceptable if it was to be used to put their family members and neighbours back to work rather than prop up banks who have behaved so recklessly.”