The worst is over, we hear, but for this government, the worst might be just beginning

THE poor may be out of political fashion, but they are not without human needs,” said Ted Kennedy in 1980 during a powerful argument in favour of more social spending and against Ronald Reagan’s proposed tax cuts that were to define the United States economic policy throughout that decade.

We can only wonder how the late senator would have reacted to an Irish budget whose main plot was to sacrifice tax increases for a large range of cuts in social spending affecting the poorest and most in need.

In his speech to the Dáil, Finance Minister Brian Lenihan said the Kennedy family “gave a powerful sense of hope, possibility and self-belief to Irish people all over the world”. But how would this great family react to seeing Irish mothers on the news last night saying they “hope the children do not get sick in the new year” because they face a €16 cut per month in child benefit and €1,000 a year cut in the early childcare allowance from January 1?