Focus Ireland claims Budget 2005 must reverse damage of previous Budgets

by Volunteer Thu Nov 04, 2004 13:11

When the voluntary organisations present their pre-budget submissions to him the minister will listen politely and utter some reassuring waffle, and then totally ignore their requests.
Still, fair play to Focus. They have done excellent work down through the years. They deserve all they ask for, and more, but I think they are really only cleaning up the mess left by our socio-economic structures, and the politicians who uphold those structures.

by Social Misfit Thu Nov 04, 2004 19:03

....the recent publication of the Public Health Alliance Ireland. Yet another report that puts the appaling facts of reality regarding the relationship between poverty & health, into figures that clearly highlight the growing chasm between rich & poor in affluent Ireland for those with already slightly blurred vision .

by Cynic Thu Nov 04, 2004 19:10

Its odd how those who are poor always have money to spend on alcohol and cigarettes but never have enough to feed and clothe their children. In "deprived" areas of Dublin there is whats known as "Mothers Night" - thats the day the Child Benefit gets paid. Many of the local "poor" mothers spend it all in the local pubs which specially put on entertainment on those nights.

by Carl Mon Dec 13, 2004 19:46

Its unfair but unfortunately has some truth to it. Also, increasing welfare payments will never solve the reasons why these people are poor. Will there ever be a balanced discussion on poverty?

by shoegirl Tue Dec 14, 2004 00:17

I would strongly agree with Carls comment. For a start social welfare recipients vary from people living in abject poverty to those getting so much that they would need to be earning 35k a year in order to maintain the same standard of living whilst working.

Now there are two groups who are particularly marginalised: lone parents and asylum seekers. These have the odds heavily stacked against them because they are not free to work, regardless of potential earning ability. Also housing issues are particular bad for this group.

Now I am always surprised as Focus Ireland comments on the SWA rent supplement rules as technically anybody who is registered as homeless does not have to fulfill the 6 month rule. The 6 month rule has received a huge level of negative publicity and I am quite surprised that the government has never tried to explain why it was needed in the first place - and I would guess that it was introduced as if somebody was not homeless and not renting before claiming SWA RS then obviously they had somewhere to live and where not "in need of housing" by definition of such in housing lists. Now if you are living with the mammy I don't see why you should be entitled to move into a bedsit in town just because you want to. If this was the problem why then did nobody say it? Why is there such a deadened silence on the issue of RA tenants who have realistic housing alternatives getting RA simply for the sake of it as a perceived entitlement? I saw a huge number of folks like this, almost exclusively young single people, in Dublin and Cork city, and in some cases they were living within walking distance of the family home which was often occupied by just the parents. (In fact I've only ever known one single person who got rent supplement who had genuinely nowhere to go - somebody who was genuinely on the streets otherwise). Seems to me that this is an issue that needs to be resolved.

Now what I find much more worrying is stuffing asylum seekers into old hotels and hostels bloating massive profits for property owners. I notice that Mosney made very nice profits ever since they shut the shop and housed asylum seekers. This is morally hideous as it is clearly a profit making business.

Secondly lone parents need much more support with regard to housing and child care. It is virtually impossible for a lone parent, unless they are professionals to earn enough to rent or buy at the market rate. They need a much higher level of support than they get at the moment.

The big problem I see at the moment is the lack of focus in the social welfare system. Many specific projects have been abandoned while at the same time throwing massive amounts of money at general recipients. This lack of focus is resulting in the genuinely poor getting a lower level of support than they need.

by pol Thu Jun 30, 2005 02:46

Focus Ireland is just another charity raking it in. They must be worth millions by now, with the money they are getting from all over the country that they could build mansion for the homeless. Isn't that what they set out to do 'Help the Homeless?

by Al Thu Jun 30, 2005 17:57

Pol,
Your an absolute idiot. Focus is, in my opinion, one of the best groups out there. You probable werent aware that they do, in fact, build and provide accomodation for the homeless. They also provide cheap meals and areas to bring your children to do homework/socialise/etc. To qualify for their accomodation you must be A, homeless and B, free from drug addiction for at leat 6 months and/or C, remain sober.

Having said that I dislike the way they fiddle their numbers when recording statistics. For example, according to Focus you are homeless if you live with your parents and are over 18. You are homeless if your renting even if its provate rental accomodation and your not claiming social.

Its also a sad fact that some will deprive their children of basic requirements in order to buy cigarrettes, drugs, alcohol and whatever else they feel like having however you cant punish the genuine people or innocent children for the actions of these low-lifes.