Opposition parties accuse Government of stealth taxes and wastefulness

THE announcement of next year’s Government spending Estimates was greeted with a mixture of derision, criticism and accusations of waste by opposition parties.

With Government finances in very good shape again this year, all opposition parties sought to capitalise on any cutbacks they could find while reiterating broken past promises and questioning the necessity of going through an Estimate and Budget process at all.

Calling the entire process a charade, Fine Gael finance spokesman Richard Bruton said nothing had changed in the way spending decisions are made while each household will face an extra €2,200 in taxes.