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PRESENT TENSE: WORD OF the week? Savage. The press anticipated a "savage" Budget, and when it was announced, it became every reporter's fallback adjective. They were not alone. Enda Kenny, the INTO, and human- rights groups all used the S word. It will only be retired once the weekend papers have flogged it to exhaustion.

But another word made an intriguing cameo this week. Unlike "savage", it was employed by the Government itself. This Budget, insisted Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan "is no less than a call to patriotic action".