The decision by the Government to abolish the Christmas Bonus payment for 24,935 social welfare recipients in Westmeath will result in a loss of over €5m in shopping power to the county in the run-up to the Christmas period, it was claimed by Sinn Féin Councillor Paul Hogan this week.
“The scrapping of the traditional Christmas Bonus for Social Welfare recipients is yet another attack on the most vulnerable in society. This will only add to the hardship being experienced by businesses in Athlone,” said Cllr Hogan.
“Athlone stands to lose between €1.9m and €2.3m as the welfare money is withdrawn from the local economy. As Athlone’s catchment area for attracting shoppers to the town expands into adjacent counties, this figure is probably significantly higher. The county is expected to lose approximately €5.1m as the bonus is excluded from the local economy. There are serious ramifications from this decision, not least for the social welfare recipients themselves.
“It is quite possible, with all factors included, that people from Athlone may go without having a turkey on December 25. The scrapping of the bonus will impact most on families with young children who do not have the extra cash to buy presents or those few additional luxuries at this time of year. Many pensioners use the money to heat their homes over the cold winter months and may now have to endure unheated homes as a result.
“Unfortunately, many people may fall into the arms of moneylenders in an effort to provide for their family over the Christmas season. The punitive rates of interest offered to those who fall into the metaphorical spider’s web will spend most of the year trying to repay the money endeavouring to provide for their family as many breadwinners in Athlone homes were made redundant during the year.”
The Sinn Féin councillor said he did not want to paint a gloomy picture for the town in the run-up to Christmas, but the reality was that there would be “absolute hardship” for those suffering the social welfare cutbacks, but also for the hard-pressed retailers in the town.
“Businesses have already noticed a big fall-off in trade due to current economic circumstances. The withdrawal of the bonus will make it very difficult for many people across all sectors. Some businesses are currently struggling to pay their commercial rates as they are being hit on all sides, and every cut that people have to endure results in a loss of spending power.
“At a time of year when retail sales are anticipated to pick up in advance of the Christmas spending spree, there is yet no indication of any kind of lift in the amount of cash going into tills in shops and stores around the county. It is apparent that people are adopting a wait-and-see approach as regards spending in anticipation of how much pain and suffering will be inflicted by this Fianna Fáil/Green Party Government.
“I would appeal to people to consider carefully their spending plans this Christmas and to buy locally and buy Irish in an effort to save local jobs,” concluded Cllr Hogan.
