Opposition parties this evening claimed Minister Cowen's Budget had failed to tackle the "real issues facing Irish society" and that it showed the Government was now out of touch with the electorate.
Fine Gael finance spokesman Richard Bruton said every single category of tax had increased as a proportion of family's income under this Government.
"For three years in a row this Minister said he would reduce the tax burden but each year he has collected more," Mr Bruton said. He told the Dáil the average family now paid €27,500 in taxes annually.
"These are families that when they go to the shops they pay a 20 per cent tax rate. When they buy a house - if they can afford it - they pay a 33 per cent tax rate. When they go to the pub they pay a 50 per cent tax rate.
"When they buy a car they pay a 65 per cent tax rate and when they fill it petrol they pay a 130 per cent rate.
"These people - who are the backbone of this country - are paying to keep this Government spending machine rolling and they have been let down because the money they gave has not been used to deliver the improvements that we ought to have seen," Mr Bruton said.
"As its spinners have got more professional, this Government has grown more out of touch. It no longer sees the real problems that people suffer," he said.
In her response to the Budget, Labour's finance spokeswoman Joan Burton said: "It tells a lot about this Government that it cuts the top rate but not the lower one and also that it pays for the reduction by reducing the scope of other tax reductions."
Labour leader Pat Rabbitte said: "Once again, Fianna Fáil have decided to disproportionately favour the super-wealthy few, rather than the hardworking many.
"This budget is not addressing the real issues facing Irish society. Pre-election giveaways will not make it easier for people to get home from work this evening.
"It will not provide the free pre-school that our children deserve. It will not build schools when children need them, or sort out the mess in A&E," he added.
"This is a Budget from a Government that has simply run out of ideas. In health, in transport and in care of the elderly, they are increasingly relying on private sector solutions, rather than face up to real reform in the public service."
Sinn Féin Dáil leader Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin said Mr Cowen had the opportunity and the resources to lift many citizens out of poverty but stopped far short of what was possible and what was required.
The Cavan/Monaghan TD said: "After 10 years of this Coalition, we have a health system still mired in crisis, housing is unaffordable for many thousands of families and inequality and poverty are still with us despite the Celtic Tiger."
The Green Party leader Trevor Sargent said the Budget showed "no real awareness of the challenges facing Ireland from climate change and the peak in global oil production".
"This Budget is designed to serve the status quo at the expense of future competitiveness and the quality of life - even the survival - of future generations," Mr Sargent said.
The party's health spokesman John Gormley said the allocation for primary care was insufficient and the failure to return medical card eligibility to pre-1997 levels meant society will remain unequal.
"This budget does not deliver the world class health system that Mary Harney promised when taking office, and if not properly addressed the problems in our A&E departments will continue," Mr Gormley said.
