 The Wholesome Photo of the Month Thu May 09, 2024 11:01 | Anti-Empire
In 3 War Years Russia Will Have Spent $3... Thu May 09, 2024 02:17 | Anti-Empire
UK Sending Missiles to Be Fired Into Rus... Tue May 07, 2024 14:17 | Marko Marjanović
US Gives Weapons to Taiwan for Free, The... Fri May 03, 2024 03:55 | Anti-Empire
Russia Has 17 Percent More Defense Jobs ... Tue Apr 30, 2024 11:56 | Marko Marjanović Anti-Empire >>
A Blog About Human Rights
UN human rights chief calls for priority action ahead of climate summit Sat Oct 30, 2021 17:18 | Human Rights
5 Year Anniversary Of Kem Ley?s Death Sun Jul 11, 2021 12:34 | Human Rights
Poor Living Conditions for Migrants in Southern Italy Mon Jan 18, 2021 10:14 | Human Rights
Right to Water Mon Aug 03, 2020 19:13 | Human Rights
Human Rights Fri Mar 20, 2020 16:33 | Human Rights Human Rights in Ireland >>
The WHO Pandemic Treaty is Just Bad Public Health Sat May 18, 2024 09:00 | Dr David Bell
The WHO Pandemic Treaty isn't just a tool of globalist overreach, says Dr David Bell: with its myopic focus on rare, low-mortality outbreaks, it's also really bad public health.
The post The WHO Pandemic Treaty is Just Bad Public Health appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
UN Author Says ?Cull? of Humanity is Only ?Realistic Way? to Avert Climate Catastrophe Sat May 18, 2024 07:00 | Chris Morrison
A "cull" of humanity with a high fatality pandemic is the only "realistic way" to avoid climate collapse, according to former UN contributing author Bill McGuire. Grisly green neo-Malthusianism is back.
The post UN Author Says “Cull” of Humanity is Only “Realistic Way” to Avert Climate Catastrophe appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
News Round-Up Sat May 18, 2024 00:59 | Toby Young
A summary of the most interesting stories in the past 24 hours that challenge the prevailing orthodoxy about the ?climate emergency?, public health ?crises? and the supposed moral defects of Western civilisation.
The post News Round-Up appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
National Trust Branded ?Racist? and ?Patronising? for Replacing ?Ethnic Minority? with ?Global Major... Fri May 17, 2024 17:06 | Will Jones
The National Trust has been branded "racist, ignorant, divisive and patronising" amid a backlash for replacing the term 'ethnic minority' with 'global majority' as it launched an 'inclusive' walking project.
The post National Trust Branded “Racist” and “Patronising” for Replacing ‘Ethnic Minority’ with ‘Global Majority’ appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
?I Don?t Regret It?: Palestinian Student Whose Visa was Revoked for Boasting She Was ?Full of Pride ... Fri May 17, 2024 15:08 | Will Jones
A Palestinian student who said she was "full of pride and joy" after Hamas launched its attack on Israel has declared "I don?t regret it" after the Home Office revoked her visa.
The post “I Don’t Regret It”: Palestinian Student Whose Visa was Revoked for Boasting She Was “Full of Pride and Joy” at October 7th Hamas Attack Says it Was Worth It appeared first on The Daily Sceptic. Lockdown Skeptics >>
Voltaire, international edition
Voltaire, International Newsletter N°87 Sat May 18, 2024 05:29 | en
Europa Viva 2024 kowtows to the Straussians Sat May 18, 2024 03:01 | en
The world economic order is falling apart, by Alfredo Jalife-Rahme Fri May 17, 2024 08:13 | en
General Assembly supports Palestine's full membership in the United Nations Tue May 14, 2024 10:49 | en
Elections to the European Parliament: a costly masquerade, by Thierry Meyssan Tue May 14, 2024 07:04 | en Voltaire Network >>
|
Budget should reverse Christmas bonus cut, say Sinn Féin
 national |
consumer issues |
news report
 Wednesday December 02, 2009 12:40 by cirrius
bonus helps local economy
People who used to get the Christmas payment include those on the blind pension, Invalidity pension, widows allowance, long term unemployed people, people on carer's allowance, state pension, and the families of those in prison. Contrast their treatment with the pensions paid every week to former government ministers like Ray Burke and Bertie Ahern, or the billions ploughed into the budgets of banks and developers.
This year, the Fianna Fáil/Green Party coalition, backed by various Independents, has axed the Christmas payment to pensioners and those on the dole. Yesterday Sinn Féin held a protest outside Leinster Houses demanding that the payment be restored.
Aengus Ó Snodaigh said: “Economic recovery will not be achieved by driving people into poverty. The recession will deepen if the government persists in taking money from those who spend it on everyday necessities. If these cuts are not resisted we face a prolonged recession with more and more people living in poverty.”
Apart from annoying people and subtracting any sort of cheer from the Christmas season for those on benefits and pensions, stealing the extra payment - the so called bonus- makes very little economic sense. Pumping money into the economy at this time of year helps create jobs and fiscal activity, which has knock-on effects right through the country's economy.
Wealthy people simply squirrel away money they get in tax cuts, which benefits the economy of places like Lichtenstein, but has very little effect on small businesses like shops, pubs, or taxis. Poorer people tend not to save much of their money (they can't afford to) so there is a stark difference in the way they use anything extra which they get.
The Christmas payment (which has been paid to people on extremely low incomes since 1980) is quickly dispersed- pensioners can afford to buy toys and sweets for grandchildren, have bottles of booze in the house for visitors, even put a bit of extra coal on the fire for the long days when the community centre is closed. Unemployed people can afford to buy small presents, a turkey, a tree, maybe a few pints in the local, and a taxi fare to see relatives on Christmas day.
Bonus payment money moves around the economy, staying local, but providing extra business for all sorts of small enterprises.
The revenue saved by axing the Christmas payment is a tiny amount (a fifth of it would go back to the state in VAT anyway) and the overall effect on the economy will certainly be negative. Shouldn't the government be creating jobs, building infrastructure and investing in the people, not kicking the poorest and undermining the local economies?
But, as Aengus Ó Snodaigh said: “The Government has decided that those dependent on social welfare are a soft target. They have made a callous calculation that those who will bear the brunt of these cuts don’t have access to power or the media and will not mobilise to fight the cuts."
Another cynical move from the boys and girls in the Green Party and Fianna Fáil.
Caption: Video Id: S9t754Vlo0w Type: Youtube Video
Christmas protest
|
printable version
Digg this
del.icio.us
Furl
Reddit
Technorati
Facebook
Gab
Twitter
View Comments Titles Only
save preference
Comments (4 of 4)
Jump To Comment: 4 3 2 1I am Irish and live in Wales, surly it is obvious to everyone that Politicians are the same no matter which country. We have crooks and robbers in the houses of parliament and the house of lord. You have crooks and robbers in the Irish Government . The fundamental mistake the Irish made was to vote yes in the second referendum thus giving more politicians more power to steal more money.
The days of wine and roses are over, and it is time to move on, but not sell your soul to Europe, there will be no more free handouts from Europe.
Irish People you need a new strategy , new policies new thinking and above all new people in power not the same tried and tested to the point of failure parties.
Hanafin took a break from calculating cuts in Social Welfare spending yesterday. She launched the IPA 2010 Administration Yearbook Diary . This is a snip at €70. I'm sure all welfare recipients will rush out to buy a copy. Maybe they will get 5% off.
Seriously though this shows how sick and out of touch with reality Hanafin is. She is reducing the income of the poorest people in Ireland yet she sees nothinh wrong with launching a €70 diary.
Lets show how upset we are by walking up and down in the freezing cold outside the dail waggling signs, while the fatcats we pay huge salaries and pensions to, look out from the warmth of the dail bar and laugh at us and carry on with business as usual. They love it when we march around and huff and puff because it diffuses the anger and the serfs let off some steam then go back to their little lives thinking how great they were for getting out there and protesting, then afterwards with the compliments of those who were laughing at the impotent protests, the serfs get to take it a little deeper in the ass while those fatcats and their pals get to drive home in their mercs. Good luck with that.
But you really should have been thinking of all this before you all voted in fianna fail yet again. after bertie cried his crocodile tears and won you gullible fools over yet again. Nobody was thinking about the consequences of your actions then were you? Or the times you laughed and rubbished the hippies protesting in rossport and suggested they get a job. You know who you are. March in the cold now, fianna fail voters. You deserve to! As for the rest of you, well you have my support but I don't think it will change anything. I marched about for years and achieved nothing. This is a systemic problem. Not something you can fix by marching about. The only thing that would change this system is nothing short of a revolution. That will never happen here. So it will continue to be business as usual. Get used to it. The 80's will seem like a cakewalk before all this is over. Welcome to hell. And we all thought it would at least be warm and dry!!
When they try to introduce "the Budget from hell" next Wednesday let's make their life hell. There should be non-stop pickets and protests outside the Dáil from midnight Wednesday the 9th to midnight the 10th. Already there are a number of protests outside the Dáil at different times on Wednesday, see http://www.indymedia.ie/article/94978, http://www.indymedia.ie/article/94987 and http://www.indymedia.ie/article/94991. Let's go all out and have rolling protests lasting throughout Budget day and make these protests even bigger and much more militant than they already are. Indeed, once we setup those protests we should stay there til we finally toss this Government out.
When they try to introduce "the Budget from hell" next Wednesday let's make their life hell. There should be non-stop pickets and protests outside the Dáil from midnight Wednesday the 9th to midnight the 10th. Already there are a number of protests outside the Dáil at different times on Wednesday, see http://www.indymedia.ie/article/94978, http://www.indymedia.ie/article/94987 and http://www.indymedia.ie/article/94991. Let's go all out and have rolling protests lasting throughout Budget day and make these protests even bigger and much more militant than they already are. Indeed, once we setup those protests we should stay there til we finally toss this Government out.