Rarely has a Finance Bill been anticipated as much as the one due on February 10th. The hysterical reaction in some quarters to last month's controversial Budget means that interested parties, pro and anti, are anxiously awaiting what further changes, if any, Charlie McCreevy will introduce to appease the complainers. The heads of the bill were printed last Friday, but while the detail is awaited, word has it that the £3,000 stay-at-home allowance announced immediately after the Budget (a measure he says he intended introducing 12 months later anyway) is the lot.
Changes that could occur in the final draft relate to social welfare payments and low pay, but last-minute alterations are also possible because of developments at the Partnership 2000 talks currently in full swing at Government Buildings. The Government hopes that general agreement can be reached on the major issues this weekend, in plenty of time for inclusion in the Finance Bill.
But change is not expected to the provisions laid out in the Budget. The Government believes that more and more people are viewing it positively, that the initial opposition came from one over-hyped sector and that when the workforce get their wage packets for April they will acknowledge the benefits.
In fact, every clause in the Budget will be put to the Dail via the Finance Bill and woe betide any Government supporter who votes against it.