Local TD Clare Daly attacked the Government in the Dáil yesterday and criticized their “annual budget pantomime”.
The Dublin TD started her attack on the budget by comparing it to a ‘Grim’s fairy-tale’ saying; “This tale is far grimmer, where the wolf doesn’t just eat granny but granddad as well, new mothers, medical card holders… and of course particularly our young people, who are unfortunate enough not to have a job.”
Daly was referring mainly to cuts to social welfare and the tightening criteria for eligibility of medical card holders, which have generated some controversy.
The ‘new mothers’ comment was likely a reference to the reduction on maternity benefit to €230 a week from January 2014.
Dole payments are going to be reduced for people signing on from January 2014. For under-25s the rate is dropping from €144 a week to €100 a week and for 25s the rate will drop from €188 to €144.
The latest statistics from CSO show last month there were 4,720 in receipt of social welfare at the Thomas Street office which covers all of Dublin 8, with 408,670 signing on in the country overall.
Daly also accused the Government of embarking “on the path of neo-liberal capitalism, of eroding public service” and of “driving down wages and living conditions”.
The TD said she found it insulting that the Government had refused to address the “dependency culture of the multi-national corporations, who use this state to bleed us dry and walk away without paying their share of tax.”
The country’s relatively low corporation tax remained unchanged at 12.5 per cent for the 2014 budget.
Labour’s betrayal is shameful… http://t.co/t8AZnAsOdG
— Clare Daly TD (@ClareDalyTD) October 15, 2013
AUDIO:#budget2014 phone in w/ Minister Michael Noonan & Minister Howlin’s interview http://t.co/fUbt4ut1ca #todaysor @labour @FineGaelToday
— Today Sean O’Rourke (@TodaySOR) October 16, 2013
Photo: Leaders Questions RTE Player
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