Today’s supplementary budget was difficult but fair and will protect the vulnerable, the Green Party said.
Finance spokesman for the junior coalition partner, Senator Dan Boyle, said the Government had to choose “the least unpalatable of the options available”.
“It is disingenuous of the opposition to say that this could have been done differently,” he said.
“While lessons have been learned from October and today's measures are more equitable, few can be happy the steps that the Government has had to take today.”
Mr Boyle said the Government had asked the people who can, to pay more.
“But we have also protected the vulnerable and prioritised investment in areas that will create jobs and help to get the economy back on track. We have worked hard to produce a fair response to the extremely challenging times in which we find ourselves.”
Mr Boyle said the Greens had worked hard with Fianna Fail to ensure social welfare payments were not reduced.
“Those who have contributed greatly to our economy but now find themselves out of work should not also be expected to deal with cuts to the only income on which they can rely while they try to get back on their feet.”
The Greens had also “insisted that the political class has led by example and borne its share of sacrifice”, Mr Boyle said. He said his party had pushed hard for the reforms to the political system, including cuts to Oireachtas members’ salaries and a reduction in the number of junior ministers.
He said his party’s input had also succeeded in minimising cuts in overseas development aid and that Ireland was, as a result, still on target to meet its 2012 UN aid target of 0.7 per cent of GNP.