There is a great sense of anger and outrage at the behaviour of the Government and the manner in which they are treating the weakest and the most vulnerable people in the community. This is the reaction of Labour Party candidates canvassing in the Castlebar electoral area.
Councillor Harry Barrett said that while local problems surfaced at the doorsteps, people felt they were being ignored and forgotten by the Fianna Fáil/Green coalition at a national level. “Pensioners are incensed at the decision of the Government to scrap the Christmas bonus. Many pensioners, some of them living alone and in poor circumstances, used the bonus to tide them over the Christmas period and buy a few small presents for their grandchildren. It was a particularly mean decision by the Government to drop the bonus, especially as many pensioners are former PAYE employees who helped keep the country afloat during the previous recession in the 1980s. Government levies are also particularly severe. I am certain people in those categories will give the Government their answer on June 5,” said Barrett.
Election candidate Bernie Courtney said she was shocked by the difficult circumstances under which many young families in the Castlebar area are trying to rear their families. “The Government don’t seem to understand the plight of many families and didn’t seem to care how they survive during the current recession. Many young families are living in fear that their children’s allowances will be cut and other payments will be drastically reduced. It’s a hand to mouth existence for many young families who are terrified what the future holds for them,” said Courtney.
Meanwhile, she said, banks are being given the softly-softly treatment by the Minister for Finance at the expense of workers. “Fianna Fail has turned its back on the ordinary decent people of Ireland for whom the so-called Celtic Tiger meant nothing,” said Ms Courtney.
