Widespread criticism of Budget from social groups

Social groups are today digesting the details of Budget 2011.

Barnardos says there is despair in many Irish households as a result of the cuts in child benefit.

The Irish National Organisation for the Unemployed says Ireland is a much colder place for those out of work.

Respond, the housing association, says cuts to social welfare and child benefit will inflict further hardship on families.

The Civil Public and Services Union, which represents lower-paid civil servants, said that the Budget fails the test of fairness, while the ICTU said that it is "utterly lacking in any sense of the common good”.

Frances Byrne from OPEN, the national network of one parent families, says the Budget is devastating.

"It makes a huge lie of protecting the vulnerable," said Byrne.

"These are the families that appear in our poverty statistics over and over again, and have done so even during the good times."

While the Irish National Organisation for the Unemployed says the cut in dole is a huge blow.

"Basically it means that over the last two Budgets, people have seen a cut in their income of about 16, so that’s going to be quite difficult to manage," said a spokesperson.