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Home Page > Blogs > News blogs > Periscope > Irish government cuts to the disabled show they are badly out of touch -- Will they now tackle the unions and the welfare entitlements?

Periscope by Niall O'Dowd

Irish government cuts to the disabled show they are badly out of touch -- Will they now tackle the unions and the welfare entitlements?

Posted on Monday, September 10, 2012 at 08:15 AM

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Group of disabled Irish people protest proposed government cuts

DUBLIN: I drove past Leinster House, the Irish parliament building in Dublin, last week and saw an extraordinary sight.

Protesting outside were scores of disabled people, many without arms and legs, because the government had stated they were cutting the budget for their helpers. The protestors were almost outnumbered by the media.

The airwaves were full of their plaintive complaints that their caregivers were being laid off because of budget cuts.

The images and interviews were horrible for the government and they quickly reversed the cuts. But it left a trail of damage behind.

The immediate question was what kind of government could do such a thing to the most vulnerable of all in their community?

They will argue differently of course, that they have no choice given the demand by European authorities that they slash their budgets.

Yet the few million or so in cuts that would sever help to the disabled hardly seem worth the human cost. The government seemed unable to comprehend how bad the optics from the cuts to the most vulnerable would be.

The fact is that the disabled looked like an easy target and the Irish government has yet to confront the elephants in the room when they talk about cutting.

The Croke Park agreement, which set benchmark increases for public union workers who mostly have government jobs, remains the most controversial deal that this Fine Gael/Labour government is abiding by.

It freezes massive amounts of money and sets them aside for public union workers pay increases and increased government benefits.

The deal was struck by the previous government during the Celtic Tiger and all seemed fine at the time as it allowed the government workers to share the wealth with the private sector, which was booming.

That day is long gone and private sector workers have had their benefits slashed and pensions decimated.

Yet the government has refused to touch the public union contracts with the government workers agreed under the Croke Park deal. The Labour Party is deeply entrenched with public unions, which makes it even more difficult to tackle them. But the pressure is mounting, especially as $3 billion dollars in further cuts have to be made.

Ireland’s very generous welfare allowances have also been left untouched. The Sunday Business Post this weekend reported that the IMF has told the Irish government must target those welfare deals such as extra money for every child you have.

Does the Irish government have the stomach to tangle with the public unions and the welfare entitlement programs?

Certainly, given the disastrous experience of how they handled the cuts to the most vulnerable in wheelchairs there is no guarantee they will handle it effectively.

If they do not they may face an election a lot sooner than they would wish.

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9 comments

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seamus60 | Sep 19, 2012, 06:49 PM EDT

Well said Misneac. Are you a Freeman of the land ?

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misneac | Sep 11, 2012, 09:11 PM EDT

A visit to a Post Office is a very educational exercise . The queue of black mommas collecting dole and welfare is a nauseating sight ,while Irish old age pensioners are deprived of similiar rights is the basis of the coming huge unrest of Irish citizens .There will be blood on the streets ,and if the Gov.think that these people are so frail that they can not mount a formidable physical presence they are delusional . In our declining years we have the expertise to win this confrontation on any front !

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angrypaddy | Sep 11, 2012, 12:30 AM EDT

Take their wheelchairs away,that will teach them !! it takes up to e100,0000 a year in tax payers money to run one of those things

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mairint | Sep 10, 2012, 08:44 PM EDT

The real devil on the shoulder of the Irish Government is not the workers and unions (though they are known to misuse their power). The real devil is the IMF and the EU. The Population Controllers of IMF want Irish parents of have less children. They are linked to the Abortion Pushers. Combined, those nasties are in the UN pie. Observe how they have been manipulating the Irish government in recent years. E.G. when the Irish nation voted against certain issues in referenda, the EU refused to accept their decision and piled money into Ireland to force reversals with their bully tactics. Readers, do not get distracted by the surface, look under the rocks - that is where you find the slugs.

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WoundedKnee | Sep 10, 2012, 03:55 PM EDT

Don't be so stupid, billie06, I have nothing against foreign nationals. I'm a foreign national myself in all but two of the countries of the world, you dope. And I really don't give a damn what friends you have, have some sense. Now for intelligent readers out there: The question is one of national policy: Is it smart for Ireland to be importing huge numbers of foreign workers and welfare seekers at a time when thousands of young Irish men and women are forced to emigrate every month? Does it make economic sense? Social Sense? Cultural sense? I say it's madness on each count, and all public opinion polls on the issue show that the majority of Irish people agree with me.

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deiseblue | Sep 10, 2012, 11:02 AM EDT

Absolute & utter rubbish. Public Sectorw workers have suffered pay cuts averaging 15% in recent years. The Croke Park Agreement guarantees that no FURTHER pay cuts will be imposed in return for downsizing , reform & payroll savings- the Agreement has nothing to do with increasing wages. All in all a lazy & misrepresentative article.

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hermitTalker | Sep 10, 2012, 11:02 AM EDT

This story is slightly dated- over the weekend several Ministers favoured a re-visiting of the Croke Park agreement: common sense would dictate it; as would basic fairness and justice; and a strong possibility this Coalition would bite the dust, including the fear of rioting from the huge un-employed ranks, and frustrated elderly citizens and young families.

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billie061 | Sep 10, 2012, 09:17 AM EDT

Woundedknee stop trying to make this a foreign issue. Its basically down to a useless goverment and what the big cats are getting away with. As for western union type stores its called moving with the times, I have availed of its service plenty of times and Im Irish, Me thinks you are a hint of anti-foreign nationals. I have plenty of foreign friends who work, pay their dues and contribute to this country.

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WoundedKnee | Sep 10, 2012, 08:47 AM EDT

One prudent way to cut public costs would be to withdraw welfare to all foreign nationals from outside of the EU. Unfortunately, it is a bit trickier to do so in the case of EU citizens, but if the Irish government were any good they'd find a way. Make employers pay for the health care, educational costs (hundreds of millions for English classes alone), translation expenses etc. of all non-EU migrants imported to supplant Irish workers. Put a tax on sending remittances abroad. One thing I have noticed in Ireland is the number of Western Union type stores that have sprung up. There was virtually none a decade ago, now they're everywhere. Their function is to enable foreign migrants to send money--very often it's welfare money--back to the "old country". Irish taxpayers are being screwed by the EU, the bosses, and the Mass Immigration industry.

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