Nasty surprises will take days to come to light, claims McGrath

FIANNA Fáil’s Michael McGrath has claimed it will take people days to discover the many unpleasant surprises and social rate cuts buried in the detail of Budget 2012.

As the Government was accused last night of dashing the hopes of struggling families with stealth charges and spending cuts, opposition parties claimed Fine Gael and Labour failed to give any hope to the unemployed and left people crying out for fairness.

Mr McGrath said the budget’s impact “will be felt hardest by low and middle-income families with children, by young people with disabilities, by vulnerable elderly people and by students trying to build a better future”.