Mr. John Walsh:

I have not much to say in regard to the cuts but I would like to point out that Christmas is just around the corner. Hopefully we will all have an enjoyable Christmas, but unfortunately, for some older people that I know and that I live near, it will not be a very pleasant one.

Deputies asked for the restoration of the Christmas bonus as a priority. Ms Hayes responded to the issue. I live in a rural area and I have seen the effects of the cuts. I have seen cuts people have had to make personally because of the non-availability of money. People depend solely on their State pension. The Christmas bonus would be of enormous value to those people. In a lot of cases it would mean they would have proper meals over Christmas. This year is an example in that from January onwards people did not feed themselves as they should. That is a cut people made.

At a meeting with the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Burton, I indicated that a neighbour had hidden a lot of things from us. He was given a loan by the bank to buy a house at an age where he should not have bought a house but the banks were throwing money at him. He bought a house but it was badly in need of repair. The storms early in the year caused further damage to his house and he had to borrow again from a credit union to fix the roof. He is in constant fear as he cannot afford to pay the mortgage and for the damage to the roof. He only confided in us after we put pressure on him. We asked what had happened to his dog. He had put the dog down because he could not afford to keep him. The dog was in need of medical attention and he could not afford to pay for that either. That was unfortunate. The same person has additional problems in his old age. He was recently diagnosed with diabetes. He confided in me that he would be better off gone. We have to keep a constant eye on him. He is not the only one in a similar situation. Anyone depending on the State pension would find himself or herself in that position. If those people could have a meal over Christmas it might be some sort of a happy Christmas for them. The restoration of the Christmas bonus would be of enormous value.