Dáil to continue debating public spending cuts

The Dáil is due to continue debating the Government's latest plan to cut public spending when it convenes at Leinster House this morning.

Yesterday, the opposition was highly critical of the way Taoiseach Brian Cowen has handled the economic crisis.

Labour Party TD Joan Burton accused him of scapegoating the public sector for the mistakes he made while he was Minister for Finance.

She said the public sector did not create the property bubble and did not introduce the tax breaks that allowed it to keep getting bigger.

On Tuesday, Mr Cowen announced plans to impose a pension levy on all public servants in an effort to plug the massive hole in the public finances created mainly by the crash in the property market.