Poor old Charlie McCreevy. There he is, dishing out goodies to all and sundry on the strength of the largest ever Government surplus and all he gets is brickbats.

Never mind that everyone gains from the changes to income tax, with two points coming off both the top and standard rates, allowances growing and bands widening. Never mind that the Government is within a whisker of meeting its commitment to ensure pensioners receive £100 a week from the State. Never mind, even, that he has moved to address some of the perceived shortcomings of the inheritance tax regime. This Budget is about only two separate but related issues in the public mind - childcare and disparities in the tax treatment of one- and two-earner households with incomes exceeding £28,000.

Poor old Charlie. He and the Taoiseach have spent the time since his speech explaining the reasons for the move and pointing out that only a small minority of one-earning households come in with income above the relevant £28,000 threshold.

Did he learn nothing from John Bruton's humiliating experience in 1982 when perceptions of an attack on children in the tax system was enough to bring down the government? In this Republic, ministers would do well to tread very carefully around the issue of children - a situation you'd imagine the minister would be well aware of with seven of his own. If he intends to stick to his guns on this one, he can look forward to a torrid time during the Finance Bill debates.