Kenny accused of downgrading ‘jobs budget’

TAOISEACH Enda Kenny was accused of downgrading the centrepiece legislation of his first 100 days in power by rebranding it from a jobs “budget” to just a jobs initiative.

Despite using the symbolic and specific term “jobs budget” throughout the election and as recently as last week, Mr Kenny rounded on opposition TDs for referring to it as such in the Dáil yesterday.

This prompted claims from Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin that Mr Kenny was in a “muddle” and could be preparing the ground for a U-turn on his pledge to bring in a wide-ranging programme to tackle unemployment. The opposition also claimed the Government may be “running scared” because a budget could imply more tax hikes on the way.