We all knew before 2.30 p.m. yesterday that this budget was not going to be easy. We knew the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources and his colleagues in the Government were at pains to condition people about tough but fair choices. Congratulations. The Government achieved the tough part. Unfortunately, it completely failed on the fair part. The Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade said he knows the budget is tough but the problem is he does not seem to understand or be able to do anything about it.

Many of those who voted for Labour in 2011 are ruing their decision today. They voted on the basis of a series of promises. Clearly, the Minister and his colleagues in government have forgotten about those promises. So, permit me to remind the Members opposite with these election pamphlets. "Families Need Labour in Government", "Protect Child Benefit – Vote Labour", "A Cut Too Far – Fine Gael – Every Little Hurts".

We cannot display election pamphlets in the Chamber.

There is no need to display Labour's shame.

Did the Deputy come up with this himself?

The Government has introduced the second regressive budget in a row. It has targeted children for major cuts in a range of areas.

The Government took €10 off the kiddies.

It has cut child benefit, taxed maternity benefit and cut the clothing and footwear allowances. What did it give in return? It gave just a few child care places.

One of the most unfair cuts which will impact on 70,000 families is the cut in the respite care grant which provides significant service to families in difficult situations. These families have been singled out in particular. Every one of the welfare cuts imposed in this budget could have been avoided if the Minister had proceeded with what his Labour backbenchers wanted him to do which was to put a tax on those who can pay and those earning over €100,000.

Is that Fianna Fáil's policy?

It seems this budget was framed in advance with Fine Gael going to war with Labour in order that Fine Gael could protect the elites of society in its ambition to be the Tea Party.

That is laughable when one thinks Fianna Fáil destroyed Irish society.

Will the Minister confirm that all the provisions announced in yesterday's budget will be contained in the social welfare Bill when it is published next week? Or will there be changes to some of these provisions?

Fianna Fáil will be joining the United Left Alliance next.

Welcome aboard.

Deputy Stagg should better start looking around him. He might be heading off into the sunset.

Perhaps we could have the Minister's reply without interruptions.

Thank you, a Cheann Comhairle. Yes, indeed, this is a difficult budget. I do not recall anyone on the Government benches at any stage saying other than it would be a difficult budget. The challenge confronting the Government was taking €3.5 billion out of the economy, an action with which Fianna Fáil agrees. It ought to agree with it because it negotiated it when it handed over control and direction of economic affairs outside of the country. The Government was confronted with doing this in a balanced way which protects the most vulnerable while stimulating greater employment growth in the economy. Achievements have been made in protecting core social welfare rates, protecting the pupil-teacher ratio to ensure there will be more teachers in the classroom because of demographics-----

Yet the Government now pays the teachers half the salary.

-----protecting the tax rates for those going to work, creating 10,000 jobs in successful schemes such as Tús and JobBridge, restoring home help, defending people with disabilities, and contrary to what Deputy Calleary has said, raising more than €500 million from those who are better off. Deputy Calleary seems to want to ignore the fact that this is the first budget which has addressed issues that have been staring us in the face for so long.

Fergus Finlay would not agree with the Minister.

We addressed capping relief on pensions at €60,000 per annum and top-slicing enormous severance packages. The measures that have levied more than €500 million from the better-off in our society are the main contributors to these overall savings.

That is not true.

This was a budget for the rich.

We do not want any comments on what the Minister is saying. Will Deputies please let him finish?

Emigration is going up too.

The Government is like the Tea Party.

Would you stay quiet, Deputy?

The difficulty is that Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin broke with tradition this time and did not submit their pre-budget submissions for evaluation.

People can take great comfort from that.

What tradition is that?

If my name was Cowen, I would stay quiet in this debate.

There are no rabbits to be pulled from the hat here.

We are over time.

Some 40% of total current spending goes on the social welfare budget and that budget contributed 10% to the adjustments here.

We are talking about people on low pay, not those on social welfare.

If anyone can tell me how to address the budget, in circumstances where 40% of spending goes on social welfare, without making some savings on social welfare, it cannot be done.

What about the dirty dozen?

As John Maynard Keynes said: When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do, sir?

Deputy Rabbitte is ignorant of the facts.

We are confronted with the mess Fianna Fáil left. That is what we must deal with. I am happy to say that, thanks to the efforts of the Irish people, 85% of the heavy lifting is behind us-----

On the backs of the poor.

-----and that is considerable credit to the people who bore the cost of the mess Fianna Fáil inflicted on the Irish people.

The Minister did not protect families yesterday, those who need the respite grant or families on low income by charging them the same PRSI increase as those on high income.

Does Deputy Calleary remember the cut to the minimum wage?

I will quote from-----

Perhaps Deputy Calleary will ask a question instead.

-----the Minister, Deputy Rabbitte's party chairman. I am referring to the Labour Party because I know the Minister, Deputy Rabbitte, has been in many parties. The party chairman, Deputy Colm Keaveney, said:

Tonight's vote not a vote on #Budget13 in its entirety, only on elements that I can live with. Next week is a different story.

Later he said:

Tonight's vote touches little that is problematic in #Budget13. That's for next week and the effort to stop them begins this evening.

What is Deputy Keaveney's effort to stop them? Can the Minister confirm all of the provisions announced by Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Burton, will be contained in the social welfare Bill or will Deputy Keaveney's effort to stop them undermine the entire budget?

With regard to PRSI, for the first time in the history of the State, following the decision to lift the ceiling so that PRSI is attachable to all income, in future PRSI will be attachable to all unearned income. If income is from shares, dividends, rental properties or professional fees, it will be now necessary to pay PRSI. One cannot take a single item and present it in the partisan fashion Deputy Calleary has done.

Hello. The Minister, Deputy Rabbitte, wrote the book on it.

Overall, the PRSI fund is in deep trouble and it is essential to maintain benefits. The very poorest and most modest paid in our society receive most of the benefits. Whether one is earning €120,000 or €20,000, one gets the same pension. For the first time, those with unearned income are now responsible for PRSI. It is the utmost of humbug for Fianna Fáil, having brought the country to the verge of ruin, to take these positions. It would appear the leopard does not change its spots.

How many spots are on the Minister, Deputy Rabbitte's back, with all the parties he criss-crossed?

From where I am looking across at Fianna Fáil Members, there are as many spots as if they had the measles.

Members should be careful of diseases.

Let us look at this leaflet being put around in opposition to the property tax.

We do not display leaflets.

Who is putting it around? The very man who negotiated it, Deputy Micheál Martin. The Dalai Lama of Ballinlough comes in here-----

We do not display leaflets in the Chamber. It is a long tradition. I ask the Minister to finish; we are over time.

I will not display leaflets. It is the utmost in hypocrisy for the party that brought this country to the edge of ruin to pretend, having negotiated the very memorandum of understanding that required the Government to introduce a property tax, to take up a position of opposition to it.

Here is Chairman Keaveney.

I will not tolerate shouting from either side of the Chamber. I am giving Members plenty notice. I call Deputy McDonald without interruption.