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THE GOVERNMENT WILL heavily target social welfare to achieve savings in the upcoming Budget, it has told European officials.
In confidential draft documents circulated to all 27 EU finance ministers and seen by TheJournal.ie, the Government signals that the Department of Social Protection will constitute a significant part of the €2.2billion in spending cuts in next month’s Budget.
In a bullet-point plan of how the Government is to achieve its target €2.2billion in spending cuts, “social expenditure reductions” are the first item. They are followed by the cut in public service numbers announced this week, capital spending cuts, and unspecified “other programme expenditure”.
The EU documents appear to suggest that the savings will be achieved by welfare fraud elimination, cuts to other entitlements and a reduction in the number of people eligible for benefit payments.
A spokesperson for the Department of Finance told TheJournal.ie: “The documents in question are purely draft programme assistance documents. No decisions have been made in relation to the forthcoming Budget.”
The documents are titled: “Ireland: Memorandum of Economic and Financial Policies” and “Ireland: Memorandum of Understanding on Specific Economic Policy Conditionality”. Their indication that social protection will contribute a significant quantity of the savings comes despite signals to the contrary given to the Irish public.
Earlier this month, Minister for Social Protection Joan Burton rejected previous reports that her department would contribute €700million of the planned cuts, insisting that social protection cuts had not been discussed in detail at Cabinet.
The Government has repeatedly insisted that there will be no reductions in the headline rates of social welfare benefits. Instead, the documents commit to a “comprehensive package of [welfare] reforms” which will help better “target” social benefits.
They stress that instead of “pursuing across-the-board reductions in primary social welfare rates”, the Government will take a “selective approach” to “reforming entitlements”, and state:
The Department of Social Protection will build on their recent studies on working age payments, child income support and disability allowance with a view to producing, after consultation with stakeholders, a comprehensive programme of reforms that can help better target social support to those on lower incomes, and ensure that work pays for welfare recipients.
An action plan is due to be submitted to EU finance ministers by the end of December.
“Penalty sanctions” for welfare abuses are also flagged, with the Government committing to report quarterly to the EU on their implementation.
Junior minister Fergus O’Dowd has previously suggested that welfare recipients could be penalised if they turn down work.
There is also a specific commitment not to increase the social welfare pension over the term of the bailout programme, which is currently due to run until 2015.
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Penalised for turning down work?
Pardon me for reiterating what tens of thousands of people have said before but……….WHAT F***ING WORK?
Do this collective of unimaginative buffoons actually live in this country, have they any concept of the main reason why we’re in this mess – no jobs!!!!
Actually I answered my own question when i said unimaginative buffoons
There’s plenty jobs out there!
Where?
I think you’re just here to troll Derek, or maybe a FGer
Are you seriously telling me that in a 12 month period you cannot put together at least a few months work doing something? Have you heard of Google, recruitment sites, Gumtree, Adverts.ie, newspapers, Shop notice boards etc.??
I see your very quick to label others on here, I’m sure you wouldn’t like to be labeled yourself. I am neither of the above by the way, I just disagree with the broad brush implication that there is no jobs out there what so ever!
Derek your post just shows how out of touch you are with the reality of unemployment.
Google, recruitment sites, Gumtree, Adverts.ie, newspapers, Shop notice boards etc.??
Where do you think we are looking every minute of every hour of every day, knocking on doors that were knocked on last month/week and noticing how the businesses are just closing down all around you. The reality is there are no jobs, where I live, where most people live.
If anyone has a job in the north west for an administrator/financail administrator just let me know, urgently.
The reality is that the rich are walking away and the poor are paying and will continue to do so.
Bloody hell Derek, go back under your bridge or that Ivory tower you seem to be inhabiting..
@Sue, Hi Sue you may be finding it difficult and I certainly sympathise because it is difficult. I became professionally unemployed in March 2008. After that I look for 9 months for professional work without success between march 2008 and Aug of this year I worked intermittently doing IT, Health and Safety, Cleaning, Landscaping, Event management and also tried to start my own company. During this time I had to move out of my home, deal with lenders on debt I owed, live off about €800 a month. And while I’m sure I could have probably got more social benefits, I didn’t know how to ge them and was fobbed off on most occasions…….but I’m not saying this to look for any sympathy, I’m saying it because I was just reacting to a general statement that there was no jobs and I fundamentally don’t believe that because its too general too be true. Again I understand its hard out there, but its a bit much to say there are absolutely no jobs what so ever as implied by Dermot.
@Dermot, I hope you make more effort in the jobs your applying for. Do not assume you know me or where I come from or what I have been through.
Works both ways Derek, don’t come on here and assume that my efforts in trying to secure employment is lacklustre, I like 400.000 other people, (not counting the ones who have never worked) have applied for every opening going, I have driven the length and breadth of this country, badgered potential employers for work, placed ads and ended up offering myself to a voluntary agency in Monaghan on the off-chance I might meet someone who can offer me employment….so how dare you tell me to put more effort into looking for work,
To reiterate what you said….. – you know nothing about me or what I’ve been through….OK?
Dermot, my original comment simply argued against your original implication that there is no jobs out there which is factually incorrect. After this you started making assumptions about my agenda. You didn’t even have the courtesy earlier of arguing your point, which respectfully you have done now.
If the Irish state want to save money they should stop paying teenage girls to have children. There must be thousands if not tens of thousands of young girls in Ireland uneducated and possesing no work ethic who became pregnant at very young ages, having no worries though as the Irish state was there to step in and pay them single mothers allowance (while the majority of them live with their partnrs anyway) the dole, supply them with buggies and other products, back to school allowances, rent allowance and countless other perks. The Irish state are telling people dont worry dont educate, dont go far in life just sit back and let is finnce your entire life.
How many single parents are in the mid 30′s and beyond windows,widowers, abandoned in a marriage seriously look at the actual people who are stuck at trying to bring their kids up single handed somehow and stop believing every thing the daily fail tells you .
And the fathers of these children that aren’t supporting their children?? Maybe some long overdue reforms are needed there. Being on single parents allowance does not mean you automatically qualify for everything. I know quite a lot of single parents forced into the situation they are in and detest it and are genuine single parents who are treated like dirt and beggars when dealing with social services. The only thing teenagers are learning is lie, lie, lie because that’s where the leaders of this country got where they are. The more you lie the more perks you get and you bring in a secure wage. I don’t know any teenage girl who envies the life of a single mother, the only thing some are is naive in thinking it will never happen to them. Force the fathers to maintain their child properly and look after childcare and you’ll see alot more teenage girls back to work.
so what would you do with these children? put them in homes? wouldnt that cost even more? as long as we have an archaic age of consent teen pregnancy is here to stay
If the fathers of these children are claiming social welfare – some of it should be stopped at source as maintenance for the children – that would make some people think twice about bringing children into the world when you can’t afford it. Also single mothers should have to claim maintenance from the father, if they don’t pursue the father for maintenance, or get someone to to so (legal aid etc.,) then they should be given a period of time within which to do so, or their welfare payments will cease – don’t want the child to suffer of course but fathers will have to be forced to support their children too.
Revolution starts the day after the budget.
where’s the HQ for that, I’m interested!
You may be interested – but you won’t do anything. Irish people are emotionally stunted. We’ll all stand by and do nothing…..
Disagree with me – show me the evidence that we have the guts/interest/drive
How do you know I won’t do anything? I don’t believe irish people are emotionally stunted. Certainly we’ve descended from braver than us. Maybe it’s being unsure of where to start or not knowing if there’s enough force behind you. It’s been done before just not in this generation. Maybe your right Paul I just know I’m fed up with the dail not hearing me and they’re not hearing me on my own. I did ask where was the HQ lol
Count me in
We need someone to instigate something, there’s no point me or Joe or Laura starting anything, who’d listen to us?
We need someone with backbone, someone with a national voice to get the ball rolling but it looks like everyone is waiting for the same thing and I doubt spontaneous revolution will just happen.
Our unions won’t, do anything…..they have the crook park agreement sheltering them.
I hope so.
Blame the welfare system in Ireland ,the best in Europe, who would want to work getting paid these high amounts of money.The workers are being flogged off paying for other peoples life of luxury on benefits,any wonder were bankrupt.
188 euro a week is not a large amount of money considering we’re still one of the most expensive places in the world to live in, Rip off Ireland hasn’t gone away you know.
??????????? Social Welfare ?????????? What again is social welfare ?????????? And where is our USC’s and our PRSI FOR??????????
Bailing out the banks. Thats what those charges are for.
They don’t say how much the Government save by people on Social Welfare NOT claiming all their entitlements or what is due to them
I am a single parent, 38 years of age with one child…. I work hard to support her and myself…. Pay my own rent and I would do any job if it meant not relying on this dam government! There are jobs out there… My company are always looking for staff!
which company Lisa, lots of people are demented looking for work…….
180 jobs was uploaded to jobs.ie today.
When was the last time someone called to your door cleaning windows?
Work is out there if people want it
If it’s not, travel and get work
About time SW was cut.
I would glady move to find work, but can’t sell/rent or even abandon the house; would clean your windows but at my age climbing ladders is beyond me, What I can do is administration and financial administration, with over 30 years of working with community groups, charities and NGO’s along with a wide range of busiensses, I am a great asset to any company. But, no one is hiring, there are no jobs, thats why all that are young enough have emigrated and gone to find work.
180 jobs and when I checked this morning not one in NW doing what I do or anything like it !
Sue, there must be some admin jobs in the northwest. Try medical or pharma admin? When the company I was working for went belly up in the late nineties I did anything at all until I got another job back in engineering, I waitressed, did sales for a company, baked amd sold cakes in markets, did landscaping, retail inspection, online proofreading, absolutely anything I could. even a christmas retail job in dunnes would do wouldnt it?
180 jobs, fantastic, only another 399,820 to fill :)
@waffler you are very positive.
To the people asking what happened to their PAYE, USC, etc, last year the government collected 11.3 billion euro in income taxes, but paid out 13.7 billion euros in social welfare. Can anyone honestly say we don’t need to cut social welfare?
cut to what? its unlivable as it is
Sigh.
Same here, Siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiigh, yaaaaaaaaaaaaawwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwnnnnnnnn, yada yada yada
Until they tackle the public sector PINK ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM problem we’ll see the weakest and most vulnerable suffer…….Sigh Sigh Sigh
Which part of the word Bankruptcy do you folks misunderstand.
What part of a fair and balanced budget do FG/Labour not understand
What part of PAYE, PRSI and USC do you not understand, you cannot expect people to pay into something and expect them to expect nothing in return
What part of criminals gambling on wall street and us paying the losses do you not understand???
What part of interest-bearing debt-based monetary system, collateralised debt obligations, mortgage-backed securities and other Wall-Street type gambling do you not understand?
Notice how the Blue-Shirts are attempting to play the cute-hoors by fronting the Labour Deputies as the Bad Guys in this Government…all the Ministeries where the “toughest” decisions are being made are Labour led departments. FG think they will not be blamed for driving through their right wing agenda by ironically using a centre left party…FG- what a clever bunch they are?!
Noticed too. But what’s new? Isn’t that the social order. Get the lefties to do the dirty work.
i think protest is of no use look at usa &uk we have to do what libya done go back to 1916 and reclaim the country politics of all major party,s have failed us with lies lies lies,we need a new direction ,
,
Come up north folks and see how paltry our benefits are compared to yours.188 euros for a single person down south ,104 pounds for a married couple up north.The republic pays out the best benefits in europe,Living in Derry i met some young people who come here at the weekends to socialise,even they say it wouldnt pay them to work on such high benefits.The road to total bankruptcy awaits the republic when it does not pay to work.
Australia, here we come!
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