The Labour Party's spokesperson on Finance Ged Nash has said that a form of austerity is back for those who can least afford to carry it.
Reacting to today's Budget he said the health service is struggling, there is over-dependence on private housing and the rental market and he said he did not think Budget 2021 would make much difference.
Mr Nash said it was time to show radical solidarity for those who are suffering the most.
He said hundreds of thousands of families were at home today looking for signs of hope for the future.
He said this was the time to spend money correctly to keep people at work because it was easier to maintain a job than to create a new one.
Mr Nash said 40% of young people who are not in education or training are now unemployed.
"They can't emigrate, they have fewer opportunities," he said. "We have to declare war on youth unemployment."
Meanwhile, co-leader of the Social Democrats Róisín Shortall has said while the allocation of an additional 66 critical care beds in Budget 2021 is welcome, it as a "very modest start", as she said there is a shortage of about 250 critical care beds.
Ms Shortall said in relation to the implementation of SláinteCare, which is about switching activity from hospitals to the community, "there's no detail at all" for the additional community and primary care staff required for that.
She also said that there is "no reference to an extension of medical cards, GP care or reducing the costs of medicines".
Social Democrats co-leader Roisin Shortall says ordinary families will not see a noticeable change in the cost of living. She says the government's #Budget2021 commitment to provide affordable housing is "unambitious" | Live updates: https://t.co/xajfI0S7R7 pic.twitter.com/HkZrksOQcE
— RTÉ News (@rtenews) October 13, 2020
She said while €4bn is a very big sum to be allocated to healthcare spending, the bulk of that will be spent on Covid-19 related issues, including the very expensive testing scheme and on Personal Protective Equipment, which could account for up to €1bn.
People before Profit TD Richard Boyd Barrett said he was not that impressed by the measures announced in Budget 2021 to address the housing crisis.
He said there was no significant change to a policy that, he said, had failed fairly dramatically over the past few years.
He said it was "more reliance on private landlords" when there was a need to massively upscale the direct provision of public and affordable housing instead.
The Rural Independent Group of TDs have criticised some of the announcements made in Budget 2021.
Speaking in the Dáil, Independent TD Mattie McGrath said the VAT cut is way too little and way too late. He said businesses are closed and with more lockdowns coming, there are conflicting messages.
Cork South-West TD Michael Collins said he welcomed parts of the Budget but that for rural people it is a "severe kick in the teeth", particularly the carbon tax.
He said it looks like a 'Dublin 4' budget and he asked the Government to think of the people who have to fill their petrol tank a few times a week.
Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe announced the 2021 budegtary package, amounting to a total spend of €17.75bn, this afternoon, which he said was unprecedented in its size and scale.
