Trade union leaders tonight accused Minister for Finance Brian Cowen of missing the big picture in his second Budget.

Ireland’s economy has been plagued by an ugly underbelly of abuse of migrant workers’ rights, it was claimed today.

Minister Cowen has done little to encourage workers to pay into pensions, writes David Clerkin.

By Claire O'Sullivan

“TODAY’S budget is crafty, it’s a cunning budget. It’s been designed to push the right buttons. It’s a budget pretending to say sorry we messed up but everything now is changed, we are a reformed group”.

WORKING parents are paying up to €10,000 a year per child in crèche fees and have been totally ignored in the Budget, unions and opposition parties claimed last night.

Special tax relief on childcare costs is urgently needed to assist working parents, union chiefs claimed today.

THE country’s largest trade union has called on Finance Minister Brian Cowen to introduce a minimum tax credit of €20 a week on childcare costs for all working parents.

A top pension expert has warned that people will have to work past 65 years to reach retirement age.

IRISH workers may be forced to work until their 70s to secure proper pensions, it emerged yesterday at the Annual UK and Irish Pensions and Investing Summit organised by the Irish Association of Pension Funds (IAPF).

IRISH men are less aware of their entitlements to take parental leave than the vast majority of their EU counterparts, a survey has revealed.

THE country’s largest trade union has called on the Government to ensure greater enforcement of the National Minimum Wage, which increased to E7 per hour at the weekend.

As the national minimum wage is about to rise, SIPTU is warning we do not have enough people to police it.

IRISH workers still endure the longest working hours in Europe and are not afforded sufficient measures to improve their quality of life, SIPTU members heard yesterday.

SIPTU has said it will strenuously oppose any Government attempts to introduce taxes on child benefit.