Yesterday I asked the Taoiseach a number of appropriate and pertinent questions about the Government's cuts to the incomes of lower and middle-income families, to child benefit, maternity benefit and particularly the respite care grant. His practice increasingly in defending bad policy decisions which are scrutinised by Sinn Féin is cynically to use the recent conflict in the North as a distraction from his own decisions. That is what he did yesterday. It is a deliberate strategy which diminishes the Office of the Taoiseach and the Government and insults all of those who have suffered in the course of the recent conflict. I am in the North every week and there is turbulence there at this time.

There was turbulence there for 30 years.

I want to have all of these issues debated in this Chamber. I also want to have this bad budget debated in an informed way.

My specific appeal to the Taoiseach yesterday was to reverse the despicable cut to the respite care grant. He did not answer me and I am making the appeal again. I know the Taoiseach does not like me putting these questions, so he should forget about me for a second.

Will Members please allow the Deputy to ask his question?

I am sure he has read in today's Irish Examiner the letter from Mr. Pat O'Mahony, husband and carer to Margaret, who wants the Taoiseach to reverse the cut to the respite care grant. Will the Taoiseach respond to Mr. O'Mahony? Let us forget about Sinn Féin and all of these other issues. Here is a citizen writing to the Government and asking for these cuts to be reversed. Will the Taoiseach do so, le do thoil?

I would say there are a lot of people who would like to forget about Sinn Féin, but Deputy Adams's mandate in this House is not to allow that to happen.

The Taoiseach should respect our mandate.

The position is that the Government gave very careful consideration to this budget, which is essentially about providing an opportunity to restore our public finances to good health, grow our economy and provide the capacity to create jobs. That is the central thrust of the budget. All of those people who are on social protection, are unemployed or low paid will never have the opportunity to have a better lifestyle and better opportunities unless we deal with the central structural faults in our economy.

The reduction in the respite care grant will not be reversed.

The Taoiseach has given us a lot of hot air.

The budget has been decided by the Government. We have made the decision not to cut the old age pension, not to take away the travel allowance, not to cut the free fuel allowance or shorten the period for which it applies, not to interfere in any way with the carer's allowance or the home care packages. The Government made the decision to continue to pay a respite care grant of €1,375. I would like if it were more than that. I know many Pat O'Mahonys who look after their kith and kin. I have spoken to many of these people and I know it is a draining experience. This is a situation where the Government has to make difficult choices. Home care packages and the carer's allowance have been retained and an additional €20 million is being pumped into supports for the disabled and carers. The Government has made the difficult choice to continue to pay an unconditional grant to carers of €1,375. The budget as presented by the Minister for Finance will stand and will be put to a vote.

Shame on you, Taoiseach.

The Taoiseach's opening sentence gives an insight into the Government's thinking. Did the Taoiseach and his colleagues give this matter careful consideration? If he missed it, if it did not come on his agenda for some reason or other, that would at least have been understandable, but it seems he did give it careful consideration after all. He does not, however, seem to have given careful consideration, although perhaps he did, to cutting his own salary or the salaries of Ministers and their advisers. Careful consideration was not apparently given to the bankers who are on huge pensions or are still, even though they helped to create the mess we are in, drawing down huge salaries.

I do not know Pat O'Mahony or his wife Margaret, but I know lots of people like them. Mr. O'Mahony writes this morning that the Taoiseach does not give a fiddler's for him and his wife. He is right. The Taoiseach has just said that he will not reverse the cut to a payment on which this man and his wife depend to get through life. The Taoiseach was not sent into this Chamber to do this. He and his party sought an entirely different mandate, as did the Labour Party. They are doing the very opposite of what they were sent in here to do. This Administration is totally indistinguishable from the Fianna Fáil Government it replaced.

Hear, hear.

I am asking the Taoiseach again to reflect on this.

We are over time.

This is not him being tough - in fact, it is the easy choice. Being tough would be standing up to the golden elites, the financiers and the big people in our society, not the small people.

Like the Deputy, I do not know Mr. O'Mahony or his wife Margaret. I am sure that in the letter he has written to the newspaper he expresses his feelings very powerfully and more cogently than any of us could do, because he deals with this 24 hours per day.

He invites the Taoiseach to switch places with him for a short time.

The choice to be made by the Government was do we cut the widow's pensions, the old age pension-----

What about bankers' pensions?

The Taoiseach has only one minute to reply. I ask Deputies to allow him to do so.

Do we reduce the half-rate carer's allowance, take away the facilities pensioners are entitled to at the moment, or interfere with the home care package and the carer's allowance? What choices does one make?

Do we cut the Taoiseach's salary, Tánaiste's salary or ministerial salaries?

The Deputy is always complaining about being interrupted. The Taoiseach should be allowed to reply.

The choice made here was to continue to pay a respite grant of €1,375.

Disgraceful.

At the same time, the Government has set its face here in taking an additional €500 million from those who can afford to pay, which is obviously a very serious decision. I hear more crowing from Deputy Adams's left-hand side. I remind Deputy Micheál Martin that in 2009-----

We are back to me again.

We are over time. Will the Taoiseach respect the Chair?

Here is some ammunition for Deputy Adams.

In 2009 the carer's allowance was cut by €16.50 per week, or €850 per year, by the Fianna Fáil Government. The blind person's pension was cut by €16.30 per week, or almost €850 per year, and the widow's pension was cut by the same amount. There is a lot of hypocrisy here. This Government has to make very difficult decisions.

I feel for Mr. O'Mahony and his wife Margaret, but the carer's package and the home care package are untouched-----

There are choices. Tax wealth.

-----and the grant is still being paid at the rate of €1,375. People should say that to the Deputies on the other side when they tell people to vote against the Government.

The clock applies to both sides of the House.

I do not know whether people understand plain English.

The Taoiseach is over time.

Hold on a moment. I reminded everybody that the rules apply to both sides of the House. If Deputies give me a chance-----

I expect people to comply. Who is speaking for the Technical Group?

I am.

Deputy Boyd Barrett again.

He gave up the €40,000 leader's allowance. Fair play to him. Now will Deputy Finian McGrath give up the allowance too?

The Minister of State should give up the €75,000.

I will suspend the House if Deputies will not stay quiet. I am sick to death of this. Complaint after complaint comes into my office from the public. I ask Deputies to behave. It is very easy to stick to the rules or else to change them. However, Deputies should not ask me to apply rules they will not obey. I want to make that clear. I will not proceed with this. Deputy Boyd Barrett has two minutes.