The Government side has won the first of a series of Seanad votes on the Finance Bill by a margin of seven. The result was 28-21.
This means the Finance Bill has passed the second stage of the legislative process and will continue to the remaining stages in the Seanad tomorrow.
Independent Senator David Norris said the parties had not covered themselves in glory in dealing with the Bill. He accused them of seeking electoral advantage.
Earlier, the Green Party's Dan Boyle said the legislation was the 'biggest death wish' in Irish political history, saying it was hardly an 'election Finance Bill'. Senator Boyle also said the Greens should be credited with amendments that were brought forward dealing with changes to the Universal Social Charge and taxing bankers' bonuses.
Referring to the Independent TDs in the Dáil, he said others had claimed credit for the changes, but he claimed their input into them was 'nil'. The Independent Senator Shane Ross described the legislation as a shameful and humiliating document.
Addressing the House before the second stage vote, Minister Finance Brian Lenihan said the idea behind his desire to bring forward the pay and file tax deadline to the end of September was to allow a Minister greater latitude in devising a Budget, but he acknowledged the pressure that businesses were under.
