The National Youth Council of Ireland last night described the budget as underwhelming and over-cautious.
It said, in a statement, that on the eve of the feast of St Nicholas, the budget was hardly a Santa-style giveaway for the youth.
For young people in employment, the failure to remove the minimum wage-earners from the tax net was a complete disappointment.
On health, the Minister for Finance had not invested sufficiently in the extension of the medical card scheme to young people under 18, and to students under 21 years of age.
The council said it was unimpressed by the disregard shown for the educationally disadvantaged. A proposed sum of €19 million to deal with this area had not been provided.
It said the provision of funding for the building of just under 1,500 local authority and social housing units, while a welcome step, was a drop in the ocean given the number on the waiting list for housing.
The 2 per cent levy on motor insurance premiums had not been removed. This had been an unacceptable financial burden, particularly for young drivers.