Irish Budget 2009: How Does It Affect You?

I know budgeting is a tough job and although I am not really qualified to judge Mr. Scrooge's decisions, here are a few obvious things that I just know are going to come out of this:

The finance minister wants to encourage foreign investment in Ireland but didn't even think of what he is doing to the Irish people whose jobs depend on the stability of companies that are already settled in Ireland: increasing VAT and applying a 1% levy on all annual wages under €100,100 is all very well to finance the hole our government has dug itself into but it would only be fair if this money actually went to fund our children's schools and facilitate students' access to higher education, because after all, our children are our future! Unfortunately our schools have now been promised even less teachers and third level education fees are increasing: how fair is that?

This decrease in purchasing power will undoubtedly result in people spending less on the Irish economy which could result in even more job losses and the government needing more money to finance social welfare payments...I wonder where that money is going to come from?

Oh yeah, and how exactly the VAT hike doesn't apply to people on social welfare as one Minister said earlier? Well, apparently all that social welfare recipients spend money on is children's clothing and food (and possibly cheap booze, now that the duty has been cut by 50% - wine goes up, low-alcohol drinks go down: I don't get it, do you?); not heating oil, not electricity, not phone costs or anything else. Well at least they can still get drunk on cheap beer and cider to help ease their worries.

Thanks, Minister, you can expect to see me soon sleeping rough on your doorstep clutching a bottle of Blue Nun (or riding around on my bicycle shouting abuse at the current government since my car just ran out of petrol)!