The Government has "scandalously squandered" four years of budget surpluses, according to Sinn FΘin.
"Not only has it failed to tackle the structural inequalities which warp our economy and damage our society, it has actually worsened those inequalities and widened the gap between rich and poor," the party said, when it published its pre-Budget submission.
"The wealthy have been well cushioned against recession by this Government," the party said.
"Those on lower incomes have seen neither the substantial direct gain in wages nor the improved services which they need at a time of economic uncertainty."
Sinn FΘin said it believed the priorities in Budget 2002 must be: Concentration of resources on much needed improvements in health, housing, social welfare, education and childcare services.
Tax reductions for the low paid only; no further reductions for the higher earners; and the restoration of just taxation levels on big business.
The party also said that "an all-Ireland economy would bring about considerable benefits to all living on the island". Sinn FΘin also said there was a need for an "all-out attack on the housing crisis" involving an increase in resources for public sector housing.
Sinn FΘin called for tax reform. It said the Government should "take the low paid completely out of the tax net" and "initiate a complete reform of the tax system, focusing on all areas of the tax code, including the loopholes and tax avoidance schemes built into the present system.
"Such a reform process would include local government. It would stop the creeping forms of double taxation being reintroduced into the tax system by local authorities seeking to levy communities for spending shortfalls deliberately created by parsimonious central government policies," the party said.
Sinn FΘin proposed "one clear-cut radical measure to tackle low-pay poverty - major increase in tax free allowances".
It called for a rural development programme which would link "agriculture, enterprise, environment, culture, health and education and social services strategies into a comprehensive integrated rural development project". The party also called for a range of social welfare payment increases.