Sinn Féin councillor Thérèse Ruane is calling for the immediate intervention of the Minister for Social and Family Affairs to address the plight of families who are unemployed but cannot avail of social welfare entitlements. She insists that people who were self employed, but now have no work, are entitled to the support and protection of the State.
“I’ve been inundated over the past months by people who were self employed but now find themselves without work,” Cllr Ruane said. “People who worked as sub-contractors in the construction industry make up the bulk of the cases and they now find themselves in a very difficult situation. They are unemployed. They have no income and are having great difficulties meeting mortgage repayments, loan repayments, the costs of day to day living. They need the support of the State but when they apply for social welfare assistance, they are told they don’t qualify.
“This really isn’t fair. Anyone who had a C2 license or paid 35 per cent tax is being denied assistance. As self employed people they could not legally make PRSI contributions for themselves and so they are not entitled to benefits. The majority of people with C2s weren’t the big earners during the Celtic Tiger, most worked for a weekly wage. Now they are being punished and many are struggling to survive. People are getting very frustrated about this; these are people who contributed to our economy over the last decade yet are now being treated with contempt by this Government. Many people are being forced to emigrate for work, that is if they can find work abroad, to meet their debts and provide for their families in this country. This Government needs to respond immediately with initiatives to alleviate the plight of families who are falling through the cracks in current social welfare provision."
