The Budget was a defining moment in the life of the nation for all the wrong reasons, the Labour Party spokesman on finance, Mr Derek McDowell said, in response to Mr McCreevy's speech.
"I believe that when the history of these times comes to be written, this will be seen to be the moment when we blew it - when personal greed was elevated above the public good."
The Budget was little more than an invitation to party, Mr McDowell suggested: "Champagne Charlie rides again." A bad hangover followed a major binge.
The economy was slowing down - no bad thing in itself. But the Minister had immeasurably increased the chances that the economy will crash-land rather than slow to a level of growth that was sustainable into the future.
In the last few weeks the newspapers had been full of leaks from Ministers, "notably the Taoiseach", that the tax measures in this year's Budget would favour people on low and middle incomes. "We are being asked to believe that this rich man's stuff is all to do with the Minister for Finance and his soul-mates in the PDs, and nothing to do with Bertie - the man of the people."
This was nonsense, said the Labour spokesman. A Budget could not happen without "the explicit say so" and close involvement of the Taoiseach.
A reduction in the upper rate of tax was of no benefit whatever to two-thirds of taxpayers and was worth little to the majority of the remainder, he argued. "In fact, reducing tax rates in itself favours the better off." The reduction in the upper rate was worth nothing to someone on the average industrial wage or less, but many people in traditional middle class jobs also gained nothing, for example a schoolteacher on £20,000 a year or a garda. "Only people on large salaries stand to gain in any significant way from what the Minister has done with the top rate." It was not just the bottom 10 per cent or 20 per cent who were getting a raw deal, he added. "Fully three-quarters of us have cause to complain at the way Fianna Fail had divvied up the larger cake."
The Minister had introduced a system of tax credits two years ago, Mr McDowell went on. He has allowed it to wither on the vine ever since.
Tax credits were introduced so as to allow his Department to reduce tax by a flat amount for each taxpayer. This benefited everyone - and was proportionately of higher benefit to those on low and middle incomes.