Labour still likely to feel the heat

IN THE heat of all the heckling over the budget in the Dáil yesterday, Education Minister Ruairi Quinn told the opposition “the story will get even better” when people have a chance to digest its details.

But the opposite could be true for his Labour Party, as its hopes that the package will boost its slumping popularity ratings might not come to pass when its full effects hit home.

From the outset, Labour leader Eamon Gilmore set his party’s sights on a scaling back of austerity. In that sense, he can claim a success because the size of the adjustment was reduced from the originally planned €3.1bn to €2.5bn.