Government ministers have broadly welcomed the spending estimates for 2004, announced by the Minister for Finance, Charlie McCreevy, today.
Health and education will receive increases of around €700m each, but most of this money will be spent on pay increases.
The cost of several services will increase, including Accident and Emergency visits.
Announcing the plans, Mr McCreevy pledged continued tight control of the public finances.
The Minister for Social Affairs, Mary Coughlan, has forecast social welfare savings of over €55m, and announced more stringent conditions for a number of schemes including the back-to-education allowance.
Opposition dismiss Estimates
Opposition parties have dismissed the Estimates as lacking in imagination, and laying the ground for increased charges on the public.
Fine Gael's Richard Bruton said the figures would lead to a deterioration in public services, and a rash of further stealth taxes.
He said pay would pre-empt most of the money available for new spending, with only 30% of the extra resources going on improved public services.
Meanwhile, Labour's Joan Burton said the Estimates showed that Fianna Fáil would spend €4bn less next year than it had promised in its election manifesto, and claimed that capital investment in infrastructure was practically a dead letter.
Dan Boyle of the Green Party said the 5% increase in overall spending was largely eaten up by benchmarking, with only 2% going towards improved services for the general public, while capital spending on improved infrastructure would also go up by 2%.
Sinn Féin's Caoimghín O Caoláin attacked what he described as 'disgraceful' increases in hospital service charges, which meant that people were being asked to pay more for less.
