Madam, – Does anyone in Government understand that everybody “having to share the pain” is ridiculous? Many people on the edge are already in too much pain.
Look at the facts. Even if the person earning €200,000 had to take a 50 per cent pay cut, they would still have €100,000. Meanwhile, the child who was sure of their hot stew at least once a week may now have it once a fortnight with one less hot potato to mash into it for their meagre pleasure. It is as bad as that for some people. Regards from a raging citizen. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – Consequent on the Budget, living standards are going to fall for everyone. In effect, with all incomes falling and prices remaining stable, we face a variant of inflation.
Economic history strongly suggests that in such circumstances, the most effective remedy is a combined incomes and prices policy. Since adjustment of the former is now complete for many of us, we need to focus on the latter.
Prices for staples such as basic foods and necessities, public transport and residential rents, should be controlled. For example, groceries are between 15 per cent and 30 per cent more expensive in Ireland than in our euro partner countries. Given that the least fortunate among us spend a very high proportion of their income thus, institution of parity with prices prevailing elsewhere could fully offset and then some, the extent of Budget impositions and cuts.
Such work could be properly undertaken through maximum price orders crafted within the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Innovation and enforced through consumer intervention and reportage, much as was achieved through the old National Prices Commission. – Yours, etc,
ERIC DOYLE-HIGGINS,
The Park,
Saint Wolstan’s Abbey,
Celbridge, Co Kildare.
A chara, – Like everyone else in this country who has worked hard all their lives, I am torn between burying my head in the snow and feeling that I should contribute my tuppence halfpenny worth to what is going on at the moment.
We all feel so powerless, so silenced – and so terrified. However, it was just great to hear that some people had braved the elements and the general sense of disillusionment to stand outside Leinster House on Tuesday while this travesty of a budget was being detailed.
I’d like to thank them for being there, for standing in what must have been freezing temperatures and making themselves heard and for the constant sound they made – voicing their protest and opposition in a potent way. Somehow, by their acoustic presence, they made listening to the crazy inanity of what was going on more bearable.
And thank you to Joan Burton for pointing out the almost total absence of women from all the discussion that ensued. Although I could not be there, I suspect that mná na h-Éireann were well represented by those making themselves heard – in no uncertain terms – outside the Dáil. – Yours, etc,
A chara, – Pearse Doherty of Sinn Féin is to be congratulated for showing how a real opposition should perform when he responded to the Minister for Finance’s Budget speech. Mr Doherty delivered a speech which was clear, concise, cutting and eloquent while at the same time he highlighted Sinn Féin’s own proposals to repair the disastrous economic situation thrust upon us. The Tánaiste, Mary Coughlan, was left heckling in the background as Mr Doherty tore the Government’s Budget proposals and its policies apart.
Indeed it was noteworthy that the only words the Tánaiste uttered clearly were to complain to the Ceann Comhairle that Mr Doherty had referred to her as "Mary" rather than "Tánaiste" – a true sign of her priorities. Sinn Féin, as the real opposition, voted against the Budget proposals. It would appear that a few weeks of a Fine Gael / Labour government will clearly show " plus ça change, plus c'est la meme chose". – Yours, etc,
Madam, – Let not the sickening injustice of Tuesday’s Budget go unmarked. Before it, Brian Cowen’s salary was 13 times the minimum wage. After the Budget, it is 14 times the minimum wage. Those on the minimum wage are forced to make real sacrifices while nothing more than a token gesture is made by an Taoiseach. For shame. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – Brian Lenihan many times referred to the high welfare rates enjoyed in Ireland in comparison to the UK. I note he fails to make the same comparison when it comes to the grossly over-inflated salaries of the Taoiseach, the Ministers, etc.
As for the work placement scheme, may I respectfully suggest that the Government reduce the number of TDs by half and put in their place people from this scheme. I have no doubt that the quality of such work placement TDs would be far superior to some of the incumbents. – XXXyours, etc,
Madam, – The proposed reduction in public service pensions is passing virtually unnoticed and without comment, other than gloating remarks about its affect on the pensions of former highly paid officers. If one can set aside for a moment the fact that the group being affected are public servants – a group which sadly appears to be being vilified by all and sundry at present – and consider the basic principles involved, perhaps it will be seen that the proposal sets an extraordinary and dangerous precedent.
Pension arrangements on retirement are, in essence, the final contract between a person and his/her employer. Some employers meet their obligations by handing over a sum of money to purchase an annuity for the retiree, some undertake to pay the pension on an ongoing basis from an existing pension fund and some, like the government, undertake to pay the pension on a pay-as-you-go basis from current funds. Regardless of the method or means of payment, the employer has undertaken to pay the retiree a specified amount for the remainder of his/her life. I am not aware of any precedent where an employer, who was continuing to trade, reduced pensions which were already in payment.
The reduction now to be imposed (effectively retrospectively) on public servants is in addition to the income tax and other changes announced in the Budget, thereby singling out public service pensioners as a group which must bear an additional reduction based, not on income or means, but solely on the basis of who their former employer was.
What has happened to all citizens being treated equally? – Yours, etc,
Madam, – It was with intense dismay I learned that the Budget has targeted both the Carer’s Allowance and the Disability Allowance. Both allowances have been significantly reduced for a second year in a row.
I can personally attest that this will prove to be the the falsest of economies in the short to medium term and will result in a major financial backlash on the government. As one who cared alone for six years for my mother who suffers from Alzheimer’s disease, I can attest firsthand to the unimaginable stress and strain suffered by carers as a result of the work that they do.
The reduction of their paltry allowance for a second year in a row will undoubtedly force many carers into poverty and this, together with the exhausting and stressful work which they do will make their position unsustainable. Many will be forced to reconsider their position as carers. The daily struggle to care for a loved one while battling constantly with the “system” to access the most basic of services, coupled with the financial strain which will result from a reduction in the Carer’s Allowance will force many to withdraw from their role as carers and to surrender their loved ones to long- term institutional care at enormous expense to the state.
Similarly with those in receipt of Disability Allowance. These are people who suffer from long-term illness and who, as a result of that illness, are unable to work. They need to be protected, yet they have been punished for a second consecutive year as a result of a further reduction in their allowance.
Many struggle to live in the community and to remain out of long- term care but among these, there will now be a large number who will be unable to continue to live in the community as a result of the inevitable poverty which will be enforced on them as a result of this further reduction in their benefits and who will have to resort to long-term care, once again, at enormous expense to the state.
The fallout from these cruellest of cuts will without a doubt rebound dramatically on the Government. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – I waited patiently for a leadership announcement in the Budget, that all Dáil members would reduce their salaries and expenses by 50 per cent for the next four years for the good of the country and as atonement for the mis-management of the country’s finances. Alas, I waited in vain. The people with the least voice will take the most pain. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – The final test of whether this Government could for once show a touch of patriotism and leadership rested on the key issue of how the Budget addressed the future incomes of existing Ministers and the existing Taoiseach.
Yet again, the Government failed miserably.
Despite the fanfare, Taoiseach Brian Cowen’s salary will not be cut by €14,000, if as anticipated he ceases to be Taoiseach by St Patrick’s Day. His earnings will be reduced by less than €3,000 on a once-off basis; about the same reduction as a parent of three children who will have to try to survive on the minimum wage. The cut in earnings for Ministers will be even less than the loss to the low- earning parent.
Given that the pensions for the existing Taoiseach and Ministers will be based on uncut salaries, Ministers will receive pensions which will only be adjusted by about 7 per cent in total of original anticipated pension.
Accordingly, Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern, for example will be guaranteed a pension of €130,000 for the rest of his life on top of exorbitant “soft landing” payments, and in addition to any future salary he may earn. Every year, this pension will be greater than the total earned by five workers on minimum wage who work 39 hours every week.
Brian Lenihan’s last Budget should merit him a change in title to “Minister for Social Injustice and Poverty Creation”. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – I notice that Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan did not reduce the salaries of TDs in this Budget. Is that because he expects to be one in the next Dáil? – Yours, etc,
Madam, – I would like to add to the comments made by Barry Walsh (December 8th). I find it disgusting that the Independent TDs in this country have voted to support the Government stance on the Budget, a budget which condemns the poorest in our society to even harsher economic conditions over the coming years. I am particularly sickened by this because of the excuses that the Independents have given for their reasons for taking so long to make their decisions.
I believe that it is obvious to every man, woman and child who follows politics that these decisions were made solely on the basis of what each Independent could get for the voters in their constituency. I believe that basing the future debt of this country on whether a supercasino can be operated in your constituency, or on whether you can get a bypass built around Tralee, surely shows Irish politics up for the farce that it is.
I would argue that having an election next year is a waste of time, as this country does not have a credible opposition. What we need is a completely new political system, where the needs of the nation are held above the local issues which seem to decide what happens to our great nation.
I hope that future generations remember the acts of the Independents as traitorous acts, Shame on Mr Lowry and Mr Healy Rae! – Yours, etc,
Madam, – The Budget is to extend the so-called “car scrappage” scheme (Budget Supplement, December 8th). On what crazy basis can we subsidise people to buy imported goods while destroying a piece of functioning capital equipment? At a time of pressing need, how can this subsidy be justified while the carer’s meagre allowance is to be cut back? It seems nothing has been learned from the mad excesses of the republic of bling.
At least some of the houses we built in the boom have added to the usable housing stock of the country. The cars we will now encourage people to import will damage our balance of trade while distorting the market for other greener transport options.
Is the car lobby really that powerful? – Yours, etc,