Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick East, Fine Gael)

When the budget was delivered by the Minister for Finance, the abolition of the Christmas bonus stood out clearly. Did the Government consult its backbenchers on this? It is effectively taking what could amount to €200 from social welfare recipients. The Minster for Social and Family Affairs is focusing on soft targets. Did she make the decision on the bonus herself or was it made collectively by the Cabinet? When she was considering savings with her officials, did she decide to opt to abolish the Christmas bonus?

The cut affects the most vulnerable, including those in receipt of the disability allowance, jobseeker's allowance, deserted wives' benefit, carer's allowance and the lone-parent allowance. The Minister should consider what will happen to them at Christmas. In my constituency of Limerick East, the cut will affect the most vulnerable. In many cases, they are living in sub-standard accommodation and paying considerable electricity and fuel bills over the winter months just to keep warm. The Christmas bonus contributed towards these bills. The money is not saved by the recipients but spent on necessities, including food, clothing, fuel and children's Christmas presents. I have racked my brain and cannot understand why the Minister considered the cut to be legitimate. She should think about people's needs in the approach to Christmas. The bonus represents a considerable amount of money to the recipients.

For the sake of €156 million - the Minister stated she did not have €230 million-----

See this speech in context