CHILDREN ARE being encouraged to write Christmas card messages to Taoiseach Brian Cowen, telling him what they want from the Government for Christmas.
The call has been made by Protest Against Child Unfriendly Budget (Pacub). It has asked children to send them the cards before November 22nd and the group will deliver them in the run-up to the budget.
Its spokeswoman Jane Mooney said the Christmas Wish campaign would give a voice to children affected by the recession. “We know that children are worried from the many sad stories that have been pouring in,” she said.
“Their activities are being cut, their clothes are getting too small and they wonder will Santa actually visit. They notice when the house is cold, when their mother is always crying, when the car is no longer parked outside, when their older brother leaves for a job in Canada.”
Pacub’s Facebook page has already received some Christmas wishes from children. One boy from Cavan wrote “All I want for Christmas . . . is to be able to be a member again of the soccer club, because I could be a great goalie for Liverpool and Ireland, but mum and dad can’t afford it”.
A nine-year-old girl said her Christmas wish was for “my Dad to get some work so I can go to after-school clubs like before”.
Ms Mooney called on the Government to leave the child benefit untouched, saying the future of children was being decided by the cold calculations of the bond market.
The group has asked children and their parents to forward the Christmas cards to Carol Haslam, Jenna’s Flowers, Main Street, Blanchardstown, Dublin 15, and post details of the children’s wishes on the Pacub Facebook page.
Pacub was set up in response to the removal of the early childhood supplement and the ongoing threat to child benefit payments.
