A defiant Minister for Finance, Mr McCreevy, last night insisted he would not "rewrite" the Budget despite the huge controversy over individualisation. Rather than weaken his resolve, the public criticism which followed the Budget would "feed" it, he said.
"I come from a breed of people who don't frighten very easily and I certainly would never be put off by people standing up and saying anything bad about me or newspaper articles," he said.
He intended to continue to pursue the policies he had been up to now. "I intend to do the exact same policies I have pursued in the past and which I have long articulated, and whether that upsets or pleases the people we will know when we face the electorate."
When asked by Eamon Dunphy in a Today FM interview if he thought criticism of him by Dr Garret FitzGerald was like Mick McCarthy having a go at Pele, he replied: "I think that is a fairly appropriate analogy."
He said while Dr FitzGerald had many good qualities, economic management was not one; he was in government from 1973 to 1977 which presided over a top tax rate of 77 per cent.
Last night Opposition spokesmen on finance criticised Mr McCreevy.
Mr Michael Noonan, for Fine Gael, said one of the conclusions the day after the Budget was that pride comes before a fall.
"Charlie McCreevy seems to be back on track for another fall. He is now insisting he is not for turning, but the difficulty is that he has turned already in respect of the £3,000 allowance for stay-at-home spouses.
"There will be significant modifications in the Budget in the Finance Bill. These are politically necessary to get it through the Dail but they are also necessary to ensure the successful conclusion of the partnership agreements."
The Labour Party finance spokesman, Mr Derek McDowell, said if the Minister felt so strongly that he was right how was he presiding over an unprecedented renegotiation of the Budget? "We are in the second week of January and still the Budget is not yet finalised."
Mr McCreevy, referring to the decision after the Budget controversy to introduce a £3,000 allowance for spouses staying at home minding children, the elderly or the handicapped, said: "I was forced to bring forward a proposal which I would not have brought forward until either of the next two budgets.
"I didn't intend to introduce it in this Finance Bill, but after the hue and cry of the Budget, I was forced to do so and I promised I would introduce that."
When asked to comment on the Irish Times description of him as a pariah in his own party, he said: "It must be unique for one of the national newspapers in the country to be referring to a minister for finance, whoever he is, as a pariah. I don't remember that phraseology being used before about any minister."