Who will bear the brunt of the Government's cut backs

Posted on July 02, 2008 at 03:02 PM

"You are full of bluster and bluster will not get you out of this," the Labour Leader Eamon Gilmore TD told the Taoiseach today during Leaders' Questions when questioning the Taoiseach about what 'corrective action' the Government intends to take given the economic difficulties facing the country.

"The cutbacks are already happening. When the Taoiseach talks about crorrevtive action, this is what he is talking about, let us clear about it. Is this the corrective action about which he is talking?, Eamon continued.

He was referring to the many emails he has received from people at the coalface of cutbacks such as the parents of an 18-year-old man with intellectual disabilities who has secured a place in a day training centre. Despite attending his induction day his family has since received a letter from the school saying it has not yet had any clarification from the HSE regarding funding for their son's place. There are many more examples like this.

"This is the position to which the Taoiseach has brought us. There will be much talk today about the economy, figures, Exchequer returns - billions this and that. However, it all comes down to the worries that people will have over the summer about whether their son or daughter will get a service in a day care centre, or the worry of a young woman about whether her personal assistant will be taken away.

"Can the Taoiseach say where the bottom line on all of this is when he talks of corrective action? Can the Taoiseach give an assurance to those parents that their children will have the services they had hoped for next year? Can he give an assurance to that young woman that her personal assistant will not be taken away?

"Terms such as corrective action are all very well - they are economy-speak and political-speak. However, what matters to people is whether they get the services they need. When the Taoiseach talks about painful adjustments, who will bear the pain? Is it these parents and these people with disabilities?

Details of today's debate can be read in full on the Oireachtas website later today.

Tagged with Finance