CUTS ANNOUNCED by the Government in recent weeks will affect some of the most vulnerable sectors of Irish society, Cllr Declan Bree, told a meeting of People First in Sligo this week.
“The cuts in special needs assistants and reductions in resource teaching allocations will have a seriously detrimental effect on the lives of children with educational needs, their teachers, families, classmates and indeed society as a whole.” said Cllr Bree.
“In addition the government decision to cut fuel and household allowances to pensioners and social welfare recipients will cause significant hardship in many households throughout the country.
“The fact that the Ministers imposing these savage cuts are Labour Party ministers clearly confirms that Labour in Government is prepared to sacrifice children’s needs and the needs of the most vulnerable in Irish society to placate the greed of the ECB, the EU and the IMF.” Cllr Bree said.
“Pensioners, carers and the unemployed will be hit by a serious of government cuts to fuel and household allowances, effective from September.
“The number of free units of electricity under the electricity allowance is to be cut by 25%, this at a time when electricity prices are set to rise. In addition the telephone allowance is to be cutback and the smokeless fuel allowance is being withdrawn.
“These cuts will cause increased hardship and place the health of many elderly people at risk this winter.
“The Labour Minister for Social Protection Joan Burton, defended the cuts as ‘an ongoing necessity to achieve savings due to our commitments with the IMF/EU/ECB troika.’
“Ironically at the same time the Fine Gael Minister for Finance Mr Noonan, confirmed that the IMF/EU are set to make €9 billion profit from Ireland’s bailout. This surely makes a nonsense of the assertion by the government and the political establishment that the EU/ECB is some kind of ‘kindly uncle’, a benefactor that has the Irish people’s best interests at heart.
“The fact is that the bill for the bank bailout is now being presented to the Irish people in the form of cutbacks. The EU/ECB is insisting that the money will be spent paying the bankers and speculators In essence this is about shifting the burden of debt from the banks and the bondholders and those who created the financial crisis onto the backs of the ordinary people of this country.
“There is no justification for ordinary people pay for the speculation of private institutions. We are being forced to pay a debt that is not of our making. The banks’ debt is not sovereign debt. It was not borrowed by the Government to build schools or hospitals, or to develop our natural resources: this is private and corporate debt, and we should refuse to pay it.” Cllr Bree said.