"Budget 2014 provides no guiding vision, no real sense of direction for Ireland’s future, and no sustainable solutions to the major challenges Ireland faces.
It continues this government’s austerity approach that has been shown to have no basis in theory, does not work in practice and is profoundly unethical in that it targets those who are vulnerable rather than those who are better able to meet the challenges of the present difficult situation.
It also continues the unfair distribution of the adjustment with two-thirds being achieved through expenditure cuts while only one third comes from tax increases.
It is not acceptable that Government has persisted with this approach despite recent studies from the IMF and others showing that such an approach increases poverty and inequality. Reversing the tax/cuts ratio would have positive impacts on both these measures.
Budget 2014 also failed to meet the terms of the ‘Troika’ agreement. That agreement specified that Government’s adjustments in Budget 2014 were to be done “while protecting core services and the vulnerable”. This budget has failed to honour this condition."
Budget 2014 Analysis and Critique - Social Justice Ireland