The Labour leader, Mr Pat Rabbitte, strongly criticised the Government's economic policies during the resumed debate on the Finance Bill. The Bill passed its Second Stage by 72 votes to 51.
He accused the Minister for Finance, Mr McCreevy, of being ideologically opposed to imposing any burden on the haves in society.
"Quite the contrary - in fact, as we see once again in this Bill - he is intent on protecting the haves, shamefully neglecting the have-nots, and screwing everyone in between."
Mr Rabbitte said that a "litany of bad news" had been emerging from the Central Statistics Office. The quarterly national household survey showed that employment in industry was down by 16,000, and unemployment up by 11,500.
"Yet the Minister and his colleagues think the economy is booming. The reality is that they are sleepwalking this country into recession. They have no answer for the thousands of people who have lost their jobs, and they have no answer for those whose jobs are under threat. It is more clear that there is no such answer in this Finance Bill."
Mr Finian McGrath (Independent, Dublin North Central) said it was a national disgrace that the Government had refused to allow a supplementary budget of €35 million to fund the crisis in services for people with intellectual disabilities. "Even at this stage I urge it to reverse its decision and find a loophole in the Bill or another creative way of funding these services."
Ms Marian Harkin (Independent, Sligo-Leitrim) urged the Minister to reverse his decision to invest more than €1 billion in the pension fund this year. "While it may appear prudent and wise to invest in the pension fund and the future, we do not have the demographic time-bomb faced by other countries, such as the UK and continental states.
"For example, for every 12 people aged 50 years or over in the UK, there are only nine people under 20 years, whereas the equivalent figure here is 16."
Mr Eamon Ryan (Green Party, Dublin South) said the proposal made by Mr Mark FitzGerald, of Sherry FitzGerald, of changing the stamp duty to free-up housing had merit. "It is an idea that we have worked on and espoused for several months in advance of Mr FitzGerald's presentation. His presentation was flawed, particularly in its emphasis on moving people out of Dublin in an effort to free-up some housing. However, a slightly different version could work very well."
Mr Aengus Ó Snodaigh (SF, Dublin South East) said it was ridiculous that funding was not made available to the health service to operate properly. "Community centres built with Government money cannot be operated because there are no funds for staff or community employment schemes to ensure vital facilities are available."
Mr Pat Carey (FF, Dublin North West) said the economy was continuing "steady as she goes," and many of the taxation measures in the Bill were equitable. "The vast majority of people on the minimum wage and those over 65 have been removed from the tax net and that is welcome."
Mr Michael Ring (FG, Mayo) said that a number of monsters had been created in the Government's lifetime. "The first monster is the Government. It is out of control, arrogant and mean. It just does not like people anymore."
