Vulnerable hit by insulated ministers

THE rhetoric repeated ad nauseam is that the main aim of the budget is to protect the most vulnerable.

The reality is far more brutal — protecting the vulnerable would be nice, even desirable, but the imperative for ministers is to protect themselves and their political interests.

Within such parameters, Joan Burton was yesterday’s big winner, while James Reilly had the look of a runner who had been overtaken on the bend for home, and left taking up the rear.