Heh, the photo on that RTE article makes Biffo look like he's trying to big it up to the Dail Massive. :)
http://dynimg.rte.ie/0001c11010dr.jpg
You're absolutely right pete, but this has to have been one of the worst budgets from a political standpoint in Irish history. You just don't make cutbacks in health, and politicians should know this given that it's the subject that comes up time and time again on the doorstep*. Even if the health service is a floundering mess with massive overemployment and incomptence at middle management level - hmmm, sounds familiar - you don't make cutbacks. By all means cut staff, but don't cut spending. Ever, ever, ever, never.
Less politically, for completely different reasons you don't make cutbacks in education. Say what you want about Tony Blair - for the record, I can't stand "New Labour", over there or over here - but the "Education, Education, Education" mantra was and always will be right: you have to invest in education if you want to invest in your country, you have to teach your population if you want them to suceed.
By all means make cutbacks, but don't make them in health or education; the former if you want to get re-elected, the latter if you want your country to prosper. Of course the latter never matters a damn to FF, all they ever care about is the former. Which, perhaps, is why they want to make cutbacks in the latter. :)
adam
* Which just demonstrates how out of touch with reality FF really are, but I won't press the point in the post proper because it takes from the main point I'm trying to make.
