Pregnant women face losses of around €2,700 a year following the slashing of maternity benefit which one Galway TD has branded as “anti-family and anti-women”.
Fianna Fáil agriculture spokesperson and Galway West TD Éamon Ó Cuív says the cut, which was announced in December’s Budget and came into effect this week, will affect thousands of women and young families across Galway.
According to the Connemara based TD , working mothers could face paying tax of up to €2,700 a year on their maternity benefit, essentially reducing the benefits by up to €100 a week in many cases.
“This is a mean-spirited attack on working mothers,” he said, “and when coupled with the cuts to child benefit, it shows this Government’s latest Budget is anti-family and anti-women.”
Dep Ó Cuív said that while “difficult steps” need to be taken to get the economy “back on track, it seems that it is ordinary families who are being targeted time and time again”.
