Castlebar town Councillor Harry Barrett has blasted the Government over its decision to confirm again that it would not be paying the Christmas bonus. Taoiseach Brian Cowen told the Dáil on Wednesday that the State could not afford the €223 million it would cost to reinstate the Christmas social welfare bonus payment this year.
The payment was removed as part of a package of changes introduced in the supplementary Budget in April and Mr Cowen said the Government would not change its mind on the issue.
The decision to abolish the bonus was made in the context of the April Budget, he told the Dáil, and the current economic climate was such that it was not possible to pay it.
Cllr Barrett reacted: “This decision is indeed the meanest cut of all and Fianna Fáil representatives should feel ashamed of their party’s targeting of the poor claiming inability to pay €223 million, while at the same time bailing out a corrupt institution in the form of Anglo Irish Bank to the tune of billions.
“This payment was what the elderly and young couples with children would use to buy presents at Christmas and it amounts to a two per cent cut even before the Budget. This decision is very heartless and will only put the poor into further debt. Labour in government will reverse this savage cut as a matter of urgency.”
