Opposition claim ‘Lenihan levy’ will damage economy

CONSUMER spending will be hit hard by the 1% “Lenihan levy” on wages, further damaging the economy, it was claimed in the Dáil last night.

A debate on Budget 2009 continued late into yesterday evening with the opposition picking holes in what some described as a mean, cruel and harsh measures planned by Finance Minister Brian Lenihan.

Fine Gael’s Foreign Affairs spokesman Billy Timmins said the Government has “spent like a drunken sailor” in the past ten years bringing the economy into a €16 billion deficit.