Labour reaction: Labour accused the Government of being "addicted to tax shelters" as the party's finance spokeswoman Joan Burton claimed that while the stallion stud fee exemption would end in 2008, hospital investment tax schemes would be front-loaded.

This was "an advertisement to the super rich to get into hospitals. It is the new avenue for tax breaks," she said, adding that "hospital tax relief will cost an extra €3 million next year and €2 million the year after".

Rather than "the roll-out of additional hospital bed capacity around the needs of patients the needs of investors will have precedence."

She said the Minister for Finance Brian Cowen was "increasing spending by 9.9 per cent, but there is nothing in the Estimates for the national pay agreement which is due sometime next year. So basically the Budget is about helping to buy votes at the next general election."

During the Dáil Budget debate Ms Burton said that the tax relief schemes would not really begin to shut down until 2008.

"Some of the more obvious tax shelters are to be closed down. They have outlived their usefulness. They were causing serious harm and serious distortion. The notorious exemption on the stallion tax has to go, but not for another two years. 'Lord make me pure but not just yet.' That will give the lads lots of time to set their affairs in order," she said.

The Dublin West TD, who has persistently raised the issue of tax shelters, said that the "Lord doesn't close one door for the super rich but he opens another".

The Taoiseach had promised that the Budget would put things right on the tax shelter front, but "it's a half measure again."

It was a bit like the old prayer of St Augustine of "God make me good but not just yet", she said quoting singer Robbie Williams' version of the prayer.

Speaking directly to the Government she stated: "You guys are actually addicted to tax shelters. The tax shelters don't actually really start closing until 2008."

She said the hospital investment scheme was "as misguided a proposal as has ever been presented. The Harney plan is going to provide tax incentives to private investors to promote the building of private hospitals on the grounds of existing voluntary and public hospitals."

It would, she said, "almost certainly result in an avalanche of private medical facilities as investors race each other to find the most profitable locations and sectors to serve. It will lead to longer waiting lists and more stretched services as scarce resources such as consultants are drawn out of the public system.

"Private hospitals will cream off the less complicated cases and distort the decision on who should get treatment in hospitals."

The Budget was like a "bad baked Alaska. It looks lovely on the outside. It's full of hot hair. It's cold in the middle and very tough when you try to eat it."