Criticism, analysis, response: The BudgetJam live blog. Email your comments here or comment below.

16.50 From Eoin O Mahony on FF's gracious concession of a Dail debate on the EU-IMF stitch-up:

Hundreds of people gathered outside Leinster House yesterday evening to protest against the €6 billion of cuts and tax increases contained in Budget 2011. By Alison Spillane

[Photo by Carole Craig]

Criticism, analysis, response: The BudgetJam live blog. Email your comments here or comment below.

 12.15 Handing over to the highly capable Harry Browne who'll take you through the afternoon...

12.05 Carl Cullinane sent this, offering us some levity before the bloodletting begins. Cheers Carl!

Criticism, analysis, response: The BudgetJam live blog. Email your comments here or comment below.

Below is a small sample of statements put forward by politicians and influential news outlets that support myths about Ireland's economic choices. We will update this throughout Budget Week.

Sinn Féin's Pearse Doherty secured his seat in Dáil Eireann on Thursday with a comfortable win in the Donegal South West byelection. By Alison Spillane

Doherty's victory is no surprise; an opinion poll conducted by Red C Research last week accurately predicted that the SF Senator would take 40% of first preference votes. He was elected without meeting the quota in the fourth count with substantial transfers from Independent Thomas Pringle.

Around 100,000 people took to the streets of the capital today as part of a national demonstration against the government's austerity measures. By Alison Spillane (Photographs by Lucy White; Video by Evie Franks)

The demonstration, organised by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (Ictu), departed from the civic offices at Wood Quay shortly after 12 noon and proceeded to O'Connell Street where a protest rally was held outside the GPO.

The Green Party will pull out of government in early January but will support the budget on 7 December. It has called for a general election to be held in the second half of January. The party made the announcement at a press briefing in Government Buildings just before noon today. Independent TDs Michael Lowry and Jackie Healy-Rae supported the call for a general election. By Alison Spillane. Additional reporting by Malachy Browne. 

"There's a lot of disappointment and a lot of frustration about the way things have panned out", Green Party Senator Dan Boyle said today.

Social networking site Twitter lit up with complaints last night over RTE's coverage of the press conference at Government Buildings where Taoiseach Brian Cowen announced that Ireland's application for financial aid had been approved by the EU. 

[Video: Vincent Browne questions Brian Cowen at Sunday's press conference]

Last night the Irish government confirmed that it has applied for a bailout from the International Monetary Fund and the European Union and that this request has been approved by the EU. The amount of funding has not yet been decided but it is estimated that it could range as high as €90 billion.