Gambler though he is, 26-County Finance Minister Charlie McCreevy could not, in his fifth and final Budget, make up for the opportunities he lost in his four previous efforts. This Budget is the last desperate gamble by a government that has squandered the best financial position enjoyed by any administration since the foundation of the state.

The Fianna Fáil/Progressive Democrats government has been in office at a time of exceptional prosperity, resulting in budget surpluses in four successive years. And despite its slim Dáil majority, it has been able to plan for five budgets in a row.

Those advantages have been scandalously squandered by the Coalition in every Budget, including this one. Not only has it failed to tackle the structural inequalities that warp our economy and damage our society, it has actually worsened those inequalities and widened the gap between rich and poor over its term.

While Charlie McCreevy can generously play to the demands of his friends in the gambling industry - lowering the tax on betting - a significant number of workers, earning below the minimum wage, will remain in the tax net. And these same workers and their families do not qualify for the medical card.

A recent report placed the 26 Counties fourth from bottom of the 15 EU states in terms of distribution of wealth.

Minister McCreevy has proved himself a five-time loser, except that it is those most in need who have to suffer the consequences.

Well done Mary

Fair play to Mary McAleese, who on Wednesday was truly an all-Ireland president as she welcomed the girls from Holy Cross school in Ardoyne to Áras an Uachtarán to turn on the Christmas lights. The television pictures of the kids' smiling faces, enjoying their moment in the spotlight, were a seasonal tonic.