Yesterday was an important day. Fianna Fáil disagrees with many items contained in the budget. The Minister of State, Deputy Hayes, was in the House yesterday for statements on the budget. One issue on which there is agreement across the House is the requirement for more time to debate the budget. Many Senators, on all sides, who wished to contribute yesterday were unable to do so.

That is not true.

It is true. I was here.

Senator Darragh O'Brien to continue, without interruption.

The Leader should arrange a meeting with the Fine Gael and Labour Party Senators to discuss the issue. The reason time is required for further debate is that while the budget was announced yesterday, it was only late last night or early today that people came to understand what it really means. I will give an example. The respite care grant has been cut. This is reminiscent of the cut to the disability allowance last year, a decision the Government had to reverse.

I am asking Senators of good conscience to ensure this cut does not proceed in any shape or form. This 20% cut in the respite care grant will affect more than 70,000 families, 5,000 of whom depend on it solely as the only grant they receive from the State.

Nobody can tell me the budget is grounded in fairness, as it should be. I have given only one example but the budget is not fair, in any way, shape or form. In addition, the Government did not reverse the home help cuts of 950,000 hours it brought in last year - it made no mention of them yesterday. Senator Kelly can shake his head all he likes. It is a fact.

There was that cut, the cut to the respite care grant and the cut of €10 to child benefit. There was a Labour Party promise on the last named but I am sick of talking about those promises because they mean nothing.

They are irrelevant.

Senator Bacik knows that.

Is the Senator seeking a debate on this issue?

Senator Bacik and all her student friends in Labour Youth were among those who stood with the Minister for Education and Skills, when he was simply Deputy Ruairí Quinn, as he signed a pledge that he would not increase registration fees. He has increased them again.

There is something else her Government did, although she may not know it. It raised the income threshold for families seeking student grants

The Senator should speak through the Chair.

I am trying to inform Senator Bacik what her party did yesterday.

Is the Senator seeking a debate? We are on the Order of Business.

The Senator is unduly impassioned.

I reiterate what I said last night. Senator Bacik's party rolled over like the old Labour Party dog it is, and let Fine Gael rub its belly.

There is so much noise I cannot hear.

The Labour Party was not even able to push for a 3% increase in the USC for those earning more than €100,000, which would have brought in €200 million. What did it do instead? It cut child benefit by €10----

What about pensions? What about the measures on capital gains and acquisitions?

Is Senator Darragh O'Brien seeking a debate?

That party failed miserably. I am looking for more than a debate. I am proposing an amendment to the Order of Business.

The Senator is out of time.

I propose that the Minister for Social Protection - or social destruction - Deputy Joan Burton come to the House. The reason is that she hid a supplementary budget yesterday.

Is the Senator looking for a debate?

I propose that the Minister come to the House and explain how she, a Labour Party Minister, can stand over the cuts she introduced and also why she found it fit to use budget day to cover up a supplementary budget, an overspend of €670 million. We will deal with the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Alan Shatter, in a couple of minutes because he hid further bad news yesterday.

Can the amendment be made more specific?

I propose that the Minister, Deputy Joan Burton, come to thie House to explain the rationale for cutting the respite care grant and child benefit, to name but two.

The Senator is considerably over time.

I would like her to explain, as all of us would-----

The Senator can ask for that when the Minister attends the House. I call Senator Bacik.

I hope Senator Bacik will agree to this amendment because we were promised an open and transparent budgetary process, which we did not get. What did we get? The Minister for Social Protection, who cannot manage her own area, stands over a €10 cut to child benefit and cuts to the respite care grant.

There is an empty vessel across the floor of the House making a lot of noise about this.

We could say the same of the Labour Party.

As Senator Darragh O'Brien knows well, there are 14 measures in the budget that are specifically targeted to tax wealth, a direct consequence of the position of the Labour Party in government.

It made Fine Gael do that, did it?

If the Senator-----

It pushed the party to do that and grasp its wealthy friends.

If the Senator bothered to read the objective commentary made overnight and today about the budget, he will see it is generally acknowledged that this is a budget which targets wealth, as it should.

Where did the Senator read that?

Senator Bacik to continue, without interruption.

There is the property tax. For the first time we will see a tax that is squarely focused on taxing wealth and ensuring that those with the most will pay most. It is a property tax, rather than an income tax. The Senator well knows that when his Government was in office, it focused purely on income-----

Last year we had the most regressive budget ever and it has been followed with another one.

Does the Senator have a question for the Leader?

This is a far more progressive approach.

The Senator should be ashamed of herself.

Does the Senator have a question for the Leader?

We can talk about shame in a minute.

I reiterate that empty vessels make most noise.

The Senator would know all about that.

There is no doubt about that.

Senator Bacik to continue, without interruption.

I welcome that the Minister for Social Protection will attend the House today to deal with the Civil Registration (Amendment) Bill-----

Brilliant.

-----which will legalise humanist weddings. It was initiated as a Private Members' Bill in this House.

A burning issue.

It is a burning issue for many people and I am delighted the Bill has cross-party support. I remind Senator Darragh O'Brien that the Minister, Deputy Burton, will attend the House for several days to deal with the Social Welfare Bill and changes to social welfare.

Senator Bacik to continue, without interruption.

There will be plenty of time to debate the issues the Senator wishes to raise.

She could have come today.