Longford/Westmeath Fine Gael Deputy James Bannon has said that were it not so serious, he could almost laugh at the insane pronouncements of Government Ministers.
“The Minister for Social and Family Affairs unbelievably said today [Friday] that if cuts were not made to social welfare payments, health services would have to bear the brunt.
“What planet is the Minister living on? Does she not realise that the health sector is on its knees, bled dry by the excesses of an administratively top heavy HSE?” commented Deputy Bannon.
“What she should have said is that the Government is playing the numbers game and is forcing through cutbacks in welfare through the Social Welfare Bill that should never be debated in a 21st century parliament.
“The inequality that will result from the Government’s heartless cutbacks recalls the era of indoor and outdoor relief and the Poor Laws, which still haunt communities today.
“In 1944 we led the way in Europe introducing the children’s allowance a year ahead of Britain. Sixty-five years later we are at the mercy of a Government that regards child welfare as less important than the sale of alcohol.
“People who have worked hard and achieved a reasonable standard of living are being ground down by a failure that is directing and dictating their lives. It is not their failure but the failure of a corrupt Government,” he added.
“No government in the history of this State has done more to foster a rich/poor divide. In Longford/Westmeath there are 3,202 people under 25 out of work – 2,124 in Westmeath and 1,078 in Longford.
“The Minster is looking to the middle and low income earners to make good its mistakes. As with all bullies the Taoiseach and Minster for Finance will not hit the big guys. They save their most aggressive policies for the weak and elderly.
“If the Minster for Social and Family Affairs thinks the grossly unfair cuts she has stood over are saving the health services, she is not in touch with reality.
“I invite her to visit Longford/Westmeath and see for herself the cutbacks that have decimated our health infrastructure and left the Midlands Regional Hospital on the verge of closure by stealth. Would she be so confident then in her misconceptions?”
