Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)

They were of the most vicious nature. The Government went after children, the disabled, lone parents, widows and carers. These were its five target groups. It spun a line about protecting social welfare payments – about not cutting the basic unemployment rate. All the while the Government was cutting the extra child benefit rates, multiple birth grants, abolishing disability benefits for those under 18 years of age and slashing it almost in half for young people. It attacked lone parents on multiple fronts, going after widow and widower pensions, cutting the back to education allowance, slashing the fuel allowance and going after carers. That is just one small element of what the Government did in one Department. The Government deceived the Irish people in its cuts savings. It claimed, for example, that social welfare cuts would amount to €475 million, but that is just for 2012. In a full year social welfare cuts will amount to €811 million, the education cuts will amount to €316 million and health cuts will amount to €837 million. I note that the Minister is nodding his head, but this book says that the full year effect of the health cuts will be €797 million. At least I know now what to buy the Taoiseach and the Minister for Finance for Christmas because they cannot do the sums. They are €40 million out in their sums in this book and the book that was presented yesterday.

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