O'Cuiv's careless remarks on pension cuts cause anxiety
Issued : Friday 14 May, 2010
Local Labour T.D Róisín Shortall has spoken out against Minister Eamon O'Cuiv's recent remarks that he couldn't rule out a cut in the State Pension. Ms Shortall stated that the comments were deeply irresponsible and will no doubt cause anxiety among pensioners throughout the country.
'Lets be clear about this, ordinary pensioners have already had several of their entitlements reduced by this Fianna Fáil led Government and it would be simply unacceptable to target them again.'
'If the Minister is interested in saving money he should look elsewhere, such as the over-generous and completely unproductive pension tax reliefs available to the very rich. Or perhaps he should look at addressing some of the tax-avoidance issues that still exist in the system.'
'Even the Minister's own coalition partners, the Greens, are showing signs that they are uncomfortable with the Minister's remarks. Senator Dan Boyle has indicated that the Greens could not support a cut in the state pension.'
'The Labour Party will vigorously oppose any attempt to cut the State Pension in the next Budget. We are very conscious of the widespread worry and anxiety which has been caused to pensioners across the country by Fianna Fáil's refusal to rule out such cuts. For that reason, the Labour Party has called on Minister O'Cuiv to end the speculation and to give a commitment to safeguard the State Pension.'
