Opposition parties last night claimed that the Finance Bill did not address fundamental issues of injustice in the tax code and was conservative in its scope.

Fine Gael's finance spokesman Mr Richard Bruton said the Bill failed to tackle "the really big issue in our public finances: why are enormous levels of increase in public spending and taxation achieving so little in the delivery of needed public services?"

He said the Bill "tinkered around the edges of the tax code" but did nothing to deliver badly needed reforms.

Mr Cowen had done nothing to repay the hundreds of millions of euros owed to PAYE workers in overpaid taxes. He had not introduced a cap on allowances to prevent wealthy individuals from ensuring their entire income was tax-free.

"After today's Bill is passed, the Minister will require a person on the average industrial wage to pay tax at a rate of 48 per cent of their income, to pay an annual tax on the use of their car accumulating to €2, 500, and to pay 24 per cent tax on their spending on ordinary living expenses," he said.

Mr Cowen had earlier characterised the Bill as striking a balance between combating tax evasion and "ensuring that the tax system recognises the needs of compliant tax payers". He said he had sought to ensure the tax system supported economic growth, but that "this in no way prejudges or takes away from the major review of tax reliefs under way this year for Budget 2006".

Labour's finance spokeswoman Ms Joan Burton said the Finance Bill confirmed that PAYE taxpayers "will continue to fund silent tax breaks for the very wealthy".

She said that in 2005, the majority of PAYE taxpayers who pay tax would pay at the top rate of 42 per cent. "Contrast this with the Minister's rather feeble promise to appoint consultants to examine the myriad of property-based tax breaks which, in 2005, will continue to permit people with massive incomes including those with income in excess of €1 million, to pay no tax whatsoever," she said.

While the Bill would extend Revenue powers and create new offences of aiding and abetting tax offences and tax fraud, it was not retrospective.

"It seems that those in the banks who have facilitated customers to avail of off-shore non-resident deposit accounts and also of investments in single premium insurance policies are unlikely to face proceedings in relation to tax evasions that cost the Irish exchequer billions."

The Green Party's spokesman Mr Dan Boyle said there was uncertainty on where the Minister for Finance was taking economic policy.

He said that rather than tackle "inequitable tax reliefs" in the Budget, Mr Cowen had "kicked to touch" by establishing a review of all tax reliefs.

"Given the existence of this review, and the decision of the Minister to introduce new tax reliefs without subjecting such reliefs to the type of cost-benefit analysis that they should be subjected to, the Minister seems to be engaging in double-think in the whole area of tax reliefs.

"What is the purpose of the review, and does it represent no more than a political fig-leaf?"

He said there was a probability of a future oil price shock, while there were worrying signs concerning US trade and budget deficits.

Yet "the Minister's decisions appear to be based on the presumption that the international economic climate will remain favourable. This cannot be guaranteed."

He also said Mr Cowen had failed to use fiscal measures such as energy taxes to combat climate change.