Sir, – Taoiseach Enda Kenny (Opinion, March 4th) assures us that we are on the road to economic and financial recovery.
The Society of St Vincent de Paul (SVP) acknowledges and welcomes the progress that has been made towards economic and financial recovery, however our destination must be more than a country which is the best place in the world to do business.
It is time to begin a national debate on the type of society we want when the nation begins to emerge from this difficult period. We must see a roadmap from Government for all of Irish society which ensures that individuals and families can live a life with dignity during this crisis and which reassures us that we are heading towards a positive future.
Calls for help to the SVP have increased by over 100 per cent since 2009. In homes like those SVP visits – where mothers are moving tinned foods from the cupboard to the fridge to make it look full in front of the children; where families cannot afford their energy bills; where people with disabilities are seeing the supports they rely on taken away, and where some older people are so isolated that they have no one to care for them but the SVP visitors – the words of the taoiseach are likely to ring hollow.
In the year of the 200th anniversary of the birth of the principal founder of the SVP, the people we assist continue to struggle and search for hope and a future to look forward to – where caring for each other, and our children, older people and people with disabilities is valued and supported, where individuals, families and communities can participate fully in society and where an adequately resourced State, a strong economy, employment and business support the type of society that we wish to live in.
Although the Taoiseach speaks of people making sacrifices for their country, the uncomfortable reality is that too many people, the services they rely on, and their future opportunities, have themselves been sacrificed.
Impossible demands have been made of those with the lowest incomes and least resources in the name of economic recovery.
We must learn the lessons from the economic and social damage that has been caused by the crisis and the austerity programme which has followed and ensure that we do not repeat the same mistakes again. – Yours, etc,
A chara, – Enda Kenny mentions “The sacrifices of the Irish people...”. Could he , (or a Minister from the Labour Party of which I am a member) let us know just exactly what “sacrifices” were made by those earning €100,000 or more, 95 per cent of whom are in the private sector?
In particular I’d love to hear of the “sacrifices” of the CEOs of Irish PLCs who average round €1.5 million per annum. – Yours, etc,