The Budget has been met with a strong reaction by the Opposition, with Fianna Fáil's Sean Fleming describing it as a "triumph of spin over substance".
The party's spokesperson on Public Expenditure and Reform said the Government is intent on what he called "protecting their friends and cronies in high places" whilst placing charges on the less well-off.
"In the small print of the Budget, there are increases being given to Government staff in travel and subsistence, whilst fuel allowance, third child benefit, third level fees are all subject to cuts."
Sinn Féin's Expenditure Spokesperson Mary Lou McDonald accused the Government of attacking family living standards and making health care a privilege.
She said there was no economic or moral argument for €475m in cuts in social welfare describing them as ''most dishonest''.
Ms McDonald she said the range of cuts in education will ensure that Minister Quinn will end up attacking education as a right and asked: "Where is Ruairi Quinn? Shame on him."
Socialist TD Clare Daly told the Dáil that austerity was the only medicine being dished up by the Government, but it was clear it was not working.
She said the Budget was a disappointment for those who had voted for the governing parties, who had turned out to be far from crusading and instead implemented 'more of the same' policies of the previous government.
Independent TD Stephen Donnelly said the Budget was like a circus, where those on at least €93,000 with gilt-edge pensions were imposing cuts on spending that will 'devastate families'.
Mr Donnelly said it was not possible to tax and spend out of a recession and that the policy was failing here as the domestic economy was collapsing.
He said the savings outlined in the statement could be achieved by firstly not paying the €1.25bn to unguaranteed senior Anglo bondholders in January, plus the €3.1bn in expensive promissory notes.
Fianna Fáil spokesperson on Social Protection Barry Cowen condemned the decision to target one-parent families "by the back door".
He said the reductions come at a time when one-parent families are at a significantly higher risk of poverty.
He said the measures were highly regressive and placed a disproportionate burden on those who can afford it least.
Independent TD Catherine Murphy said the cut in the fuel allowance from 32 week to 26 weeks was one of "the most cynical cuts of all".
She said the people this would affect were those who were making the choice between putting food on the table and turning on the heat.
