Basic welfare payments should be protected says Gilmore

Posted on November 04, 2009 at 04:11 PM

The plight of people who are out of work was raised this morning by the Labour Leader Eamon Gilmore TD who, during Leaders' Questions, called on the Taoiseach to protect basic welfare payments.

During the debate Eamon cited the Society of St. Vincent de Paul's pre-Budget submission which laid bare a number of stark realities facing people in this situation including the 30 per cent increase in people coming to them, how one in every four people in Dublin coming to them are doing so for the first time, how they are helping 560 homeless people with accommodation each night, how Ireland is the second dearest country in Europe for food and has the third highest level of poverty in Europe.

In conclusion the St Vincent de Paul said that there is no moral or economic justification for cuts in social welfare or pensions and asks that the Christmas bonus payment for people on social welfare, which was withdrawn by the Government this year, be reinstated.

Eamon added: "The Government had no difficulty in coming forward with a formula to deal with the banks under which it is paying more for the bad debts of those institutions than those debts are worth.

"However, people who are on pensions, those from whom the Christmas bonus has been taken and individuals who have lost their jobs and who are trying to survive on minimum incomes that they are going to be obliged to carry the can for what has happened."

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Tagged with Social & Family Affairs