If there were surprises in the Budget, it was the removal of probate tax - a measure for which there was little public clamour - and the removal of the ceiling on employers' PRSI contributions. Following the 11th hour agreement on pay measures to hold together the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness, it was always unlikely that the Minister would claw back some of those gains by increasing the PRSI burden on the average worker.

In truth, it is equally unlikely that the measure took the employers' group IBEC as much by surprise as it would have us believe.

The employers are as important to the national agreement as the unions and it is likely that their understanding of what lay ahead underpinned their approach to the PPF talks, which yielded a 2 per cent increase in pay next year and a 1 per cent lump sum payment the following year.

Of course, it could just be that the Minister thought employers were being a bit difficult on the pay front but can you see the pro-business Minister and his partner in Government, the Progressive Democrats, buying that tactic?