Debt by a thousand cuts

HARD-PRESSED families could be up to €1,000 a year worse off after being hit with a raft of budget stealth charges — and there is more to come today in the second wave of pain.

Delivering the first half of the budget yesterday, Public Expenditure Minister Brendan Howlin announced €2.2 billion of spending cuts which will leave middle-income families facing significantly increased bills.

Some of the cruellest cuts were reserved for the most vulnerable, including young people with disabilities and those reliant on state help to heat their homes.