BUDGET 2016: We protected young and old: Howlin

Public Expenditure Minister Brendan Howlin announced a suite of spending increases for health, justice, and education as he insisted the Coalition had made good on its promises to fix the public finances.

Unveiling his half-portion of the €1.5bn budget spend for 2016, the Labour minister argued that the Coalition had brought the country back from the brink since the 2008 financial crash.

A special childcare support package, along with extended free GP care for the under 12s and a 50c increase in the minimum wage next year, were all announced by the minister during his Dáil budget speech yesterday.