I am very concerned that Government’s fresh cuts in disability allowances are just the first step in a series aimed at the vulnerable & voiceless.
The Rehabilitative Training Allowance for young school leavers with a disability and the €31.80 weekly allowance for new students in September must be immediately reinstated!
Sinn Féin has obtained details of additional planned cuts through a Freedom of Information request. This revealed the HSE is planning cuts in the areas of Disabilities, Older Persons and acute hospitals, in order to just break even.
This is cruel and appears to be aimed at a particular group of citizens that the Government thinks will not speak out or fight back. Sinn Féin will certainly resist this cut and I have written to Minister of State Finian McGrath asking him to immediately restore the allowance. I have also asked for clarity on whether we can expect more targeted cuts in the months leading up to the budget.
You would think that Fine Gael had learned their lesson from previous mean spirited and targeted cuts such as denying pensioners the bereavement grant and a telephone grant. At the time I repeatedly pointed out to the Government how these cuts left people feeling isolated and helpless and the money saved as a result was not very substantial. We are not talking about huge sums with the Disability allowance either. The cost is approximately €925,000 annually.
Denying disabled children an opportunity to enter the education system and prepare for a meaningful life in the workforce is cruel and baffling. Either they are out of touch and simply don’t understand the impact this will have or they are determined to make others pay for their own failures in handling taxpayers’ money correctly. Either way the cut simply has to be reversed.
Speaking with Paula Donellan on Midwest Radio.
