Letterkenny Sinn Fein Councillor Gerry McMonagle has slammed the Labour Party for reneging on its pre-election promise of not to cut Child Benefit.
Cllr Mc Monagle said Labour politicians should be ashamed of themselves for allowing this to happen and for attacking those most vulnerable in our society.
“As parents prepare to collect their first Child Benefit payments since the Budget they will see at first hand what the cuts to Child Benefit in this latest Budget really mean. They are possibly the most far-reaching of all the cuts. This IS a core payment and it has been slashed, contrary to Labour Party claims and Labour Party pre-election commitments.
“The incomes of households with children were already falling further and faster before this budget. The Central Statistics Office Survey on Income and Living Conditions demonstrates that the incomes of households with children fell five times more than the incomes of childless households between 2009 and 2010, the latest figures available,” he said.
He added households with children are three times more likely to be in debt arising from ordinary living expenses than households without children.
The Social Protection Department’s own value-for-money review of Child Benefit published in 2010 demonstrates the dependence of middle income families on this payment, he added.
“Its analysis found that households in the 4th and 5th of ten income brackets fall below or onto the poverty line after paying their taxes and it is Child Benefit that then lifts them onto and over the line respectively. These are the families that pay for everything and are entitled to nothing.
“The Child Benefit cuts come on top of other penalties and obstacles being encountered by struggling families. In November Minister Burton informed us that working families who are in poverty and who applied for Family Income Supplement in June of this year may be waiting as long as until April for a decision on their claims.”
He said childcare and after-school care are extremely expensive.
“In terms of affordability this State has almost the worst child care and after school care provision in Europe. Working families with young children are spending up to 41% of their income on child care.
“According to the Energy Regulator families with children are having the most problems falling into arrears on their energy bills.
“Those same families who face Child Benefit cuts must also face higher charges for medicines, through the trebling of prescription charges for medical card patients and the increase of the Drugs Payment Scheme monthly ceiling to €144. The reduction of the Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance is another heavy blow to those least able to sustain the hit.
“I have no doubt that this Social Welfare Bill, in combination with the Health cuts, will damage the health of children.
Cllr Mc Monagle concluded “It would be much fairer, simpler and economically sounder to introduce a third rate of income tax on all high earners. But Fine Gael and Labour Ministers have set their faces against fairness. Shame on them.”
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