Social Welfare Bill is austerity measure by Government
Posted on June 21, 2010 at 01:28 PM
The Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2010 before us today is more of the Government’s austerity measures for the unemployed and less well off in their approach to resolving the economic crisis.
It follows on two budgets, a pension’s levy and two social welfare acts in 2009, all of which targeted those at the bottom end of the scale struggling to subsist.
This Bill was published on the 28th May 2010 and it will be guillotined by the Government today the 17th June 2010.
It takes only three weeks to ram an austerity measure through the Dáil. Meanwhile we are waiting since September 2008, nearly two years, to get a Commission of Investigation into the people and policies which caused the near collapse of the Irish economy, the destruction of the lives of tens of thousands of families, the loss of employment for 200,000 workers and the immigration of 100,000 more by the end of the year.
This Government, like this legislation, is a disgrace.
This Bill is only about cuts. There are no positives, no incentives.
a) One parent family payment will end when the youngest child reaches the age of 13. This inexplicable cut will put 12,000 people on the live register when implemented.
b) Section 23 provides for the publication of the names, addresses, amount of fees and other penalties of persons who have been convicted under social welfare legislation.
c) A further cut by 25% of the Jobseeker’s Allowance for young people which was already halved last year.
The withdrawal of lone parent payment when a child has reached the age of 13 is a vicious blow to lone parents and children who hare already living in poverty or at the risk of poverty. Thirteen is a critical age for children as they are at the transition stage between primary and secondary school and need maximum support in their lives.
This is an anti child, anti parent and anti family provision. It is mean and discriminating and will do untold damage to the children affected. I believe the measure is unconstitutional.
I have no problem with people who are guilty of fraud being named and shamed but let us have it equally across the board.
The National Employment Rights Authority (NERA) should now be obliged to publish a monthly list of all the companies and businesses together with their key personnel which have offended in dealing with their tax affairs, social welfare affairs and their exploitation of employees.
What is sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander.
Finally, the cuts in the allowance for young jobseekers are a direct attack on young people.
The number of education and training places for young people is totally inadequate. In April 2009 the Government promised 2,000 work placement places and delivered only 919; likewise they have promised 2,500 college places for young jobseekers and delivered only 1,752.
Many young people are becoming homeless because of the slash and burn behaviour of the Government.
A whole generation of young people are being shunned by the Government of their country. They are being told that they are a burden and not wanted. They must leave the country or live in dire poverty.
What is needed is not the witch hunt which this legislation entails but a series of incentives to employment and training for our young people and our unemployed and decent welfare support for our lone parents and less well off.
