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

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Comments (4 of 4)

Stormin the Dáil

by Doctorin The Tardis

Thu Dec 03, 2009 13:44

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.

yeah....

by Serf'sUp

Thu Dec 03, 2009 14:14

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!!

Scrooge Hanafin

by A Spectre Haunts Ireland

Thu Dec 03, 2009 16:50

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.

All the same

by Hedgie O Hog

Mon Dec 07, 2009 23:30

heatwave7 at dsl dot pipex dot com

I 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.

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Budget should reverse Christmas bonus cut, say Sinn Féin

Comments (4 of 4)