Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)

The idea of giving a half rate was to try to support people who paid their contributions. As Deputy Boyd Barrett has said, €400 a week is not a big income. Am I correct in thinking that the loss of income through this change is as follows? For a family with four children half of the rate per child is €15, if we ignore the 20 cent on the full €29.80. If we multiply that by four it comes to €60. There is also a cut of €19 a month on the third child allowance and €17 a month on the fourth child. When we add those two, we get a cut of €36 and if we divide that by four it comes to €9. Therefore, will the Minister confirm that this cut for families earning between €400 and €500 will mean a cut of €70 per week? The Minister should remember that when we compare that to cuts at the top end, people at that end were screaming about cuts of €70 a week. This cut is €70 a week. Am I right or wrong?

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