Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
SENIOR CITIZENS ARE to hold a demonstration outside the Dáil this afternoon to protest against cuts made by the Government in last week’s budget.
The protest will also mark the five year anniversary of a massive protest by seniors that caused the Government to roll back on its plan to remove the automatic entitlement to a medical cards to people over 70.
Today’s protest is targeting a number of cuts that will affect elderly people including an increase in prescription charges, lowering of income limit for medical cards for over 70s, the abolition of the telephone allowance for the elderly and the ending of the bereavement grant.
Today’s protest is being organised by Irish Senior Citizens Parliament and a spokesperson said that they would hope to have a similar response to the successful 2008 protests:
If we can judge by the phonecalls we’ve had in the last few days we’re thinking its going to be a good response, we’re getting people from all over Ireland telling us they are going to travel and that they’re getting buses or by train or car or whatever.
The ISCP says that at present they have about 350 affiliated organisations and a total membership of about 80,000 people. In correspondence sent out to affiliates ahead of today’s protest, the ISCP told its members that it’s time to change media reports that politicians haven’t received “too much heat from older people” since the budget. “It’s time to shout stop” reads the missive sent to members.
SIPTU is also lending its support to the protest effort, which takes place outside the gates of the Dáil at 1pm.
“They say they haven’t touched the state pensions but all of these issues affect people as well because with the contributory pension, everything leads into that pension.” according to the ISCP spokesperson. “We are concerned when they are touching us they are indirectly.”
Some 15,000 older people and around 10,000 students took part in a rally outside the gates of Leinster House on 22 October 2008.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
At least their getting up off their backsides & doing something! The younger irish generations should take note!
Yes. If only everyone had free travel and didn’t face been sprayed with tear gas by gardai and later arrested when they protest outside the Dail
When younger people protest theyre tarred as lazy gurriers who should be looking for a job instead of being out in the streets and causing disruption. No doubt there’ll be plenty of support for this. Hard to get your head around the double standards considering the shafting of the young in the budget.
susanna i detect yellow
why dont the young unemployed join them in protest,,,to busy on x box or the likes
Fellow fintan, I agree to an extent but at the same time that label on protestors has largely been given by people looking for excuses to justify their own lack of motivation or sheer lazy. Apathy is a huge problem among the younger generation.personally I blame all the xzy factors and to an extent celebrity obsessed culture we seem to have inherited from the British
You shouldnt make assumptions about people like that. Think about it. Suppose you live in Mayo or Galway or wherever and youre on 100 a week you cant afford to protest. Itd be an expensive couple of hrs protesting considering an adult train ticket will set you back half your money for the week. Whats the point of protesting for a couple of hrd if you cant feed yourself for the week afterwards?
Anyone who is motivated enough will protest. I see what you mean but protesting doesnt necessarily mean going to Dublin
@ fellow Fintan: I think its fairly undeniable that there is a culture of political apathy among young people. Its how those in power can walk all over them, they have no fear of the youth because they dont vote in large numbers. Its hard to break the mould as well. By rights the young should be out in the street protesting this discriminatory budget but are not and why? Depends who you ask. Id say financial barriers coupled with apathy as you say but theres a good cross section of people who genuinely believe the youth are completely lazy to the point of uselessness which I reject as patently false.
You do realise that the majority of young people who are and aren’t working are busy saving there dole/wages to get the hell out of Ireland.
People like yourself and this grey brigade are the ones who voted in the government thats messed up ireland. It wasn’t my generation that bought houses and cars that were well beyond my means with ridiculous loans.
Sure, you can tell us how there are jobs there for those who want them but why should we take them over emigration. Paid less, work longer, expected to fall on your knees in praise of having a job.
Yeah the elderly are good at protesting…the poster image is of a poor lonely old man/woman sitting by a dying fire in the the cold of winter in their isolated country hovel…the reality is far from that.
Whatever about providing for those that need it but its stupid that they all get yje same provisions. I was at a wedding in spain this weekend and there was an aul lad at my table moaning about the budget. If he is so poor and under attack from cuts, what the hell was he doing in Spain?
The chap had the cheek to say that I’m lucky I have a job to go back to also. Screw that….having a job should be normal! It shouldn’t have anything to do with luck.
Well said man .. some more youths with intelligence like yours and we be doin al right
Instead if shouting “stop”, maybe the elderly of Ireland should stop voting in FF and FG and they might find themselves better served.
We voted in Labour.
Bring back Matlock!!!!!!!
idiot
Cyber bully
Amazing that all these keyboard warriors can’t do any simple maths.
The State Pension has been cut in these budgets, by a total of more than 3% so far if you include cancellation of the phone allowance of €9.50 a month.
If you are sick, every single item you are prescribed will now cost €2.50 a pop just to collect.
You don’t get exemptions from the Household Charge, property tax, or water charges when they begin.
Or from higher energy costs.
As for what the state laughably calls ‘health care’?
And all this after a lifetime of paying high taxes and busting our asses at work.
Seniors not only have the right to demand reversal of the cuts, they have every right to demand solidarity from others who have been hit.
When we go out there today, it is not just on our own behalf. It is also for the others who are being savaged to fill the banks vaults — the young, the disabled, the sick, and even the dead.
For everyone but the wealthy and greedy, in short.
Apologies for any offence to you or your generation Shane. More of an Inspector Morse fan presumably?
Well said Karl. I admire the way the elderly know how to protest. Good luck.
Everyone should join them wrap up warm make a banner and show solidarity.
Most of them are selfish to having used to having it so good that they have developed a grotesque sense of entitlement Where are the poor kids whose dole was cut to 100 euro? They know its pointless to protest because it gets them nowhere. However these grey haired bullies have no thought for anyone but themselves
Bs alert!!!!! Not all old people have it so easy o wise one
Selfish old people? They’re used to having it good? Reality check!
It’s the old people who really endured the rough times- they know what it’s like to work really hard for very little, pay much higher taxes, as well as extortionate mortgage rates. They are not the ones who went out & borrowed more than they could pay back, as that was not their way of thinking. And there lies the difference! yes, they probably don’t know what it’s like to only ‘earn’ €100 on the dole as they would have actually worked to earn every penny they had. If the younger generation would only take a leaf out of their book, stand up for their rights and not what they think their entitled to, then perhaps the country would be in a better state.
Those “grey haired bullies” have done more for the country than you or I ever will. The walked miles every morning and evening just to go to school. They worked themselves to the bone to put bread on the table and not what you consider what to the bone is these days with all the H&S shite. Most didn’t finish secondary school as the had to go out and earn for their families. They know what hard times are. Do you? They were right to protest last time and they got the result the wanted and deserved. And what do we do only piss and moan about every cut and get nowhere. Fair play to them protesting again
The kids are a product of the computer generation , too lazy to move to protest ,doesnt bode well for the future of the country . Any of the younger generation with any drive have left this shit hole .
Grey haired bullies lol , at least they have some back bone unlike the rest . And your attitude sums it up neatly no empathy and a couldnt be bothered attitude
Oh Susanna, you really are a silly little girl!
Run along now, back to your hopscotch or whatever.
I sincerely hope you are a troll and don’t actually mean what you say. They have paid their tax all their lives they should be able to expect having contributed to this country when able that when they are less able we look after them. Just as those with discretionary medical cards should. I am not supporting the cut to dole if they march ill support them. But let’s face it they are better able to look after them selves and have parents to help out if needed. Show some respect to the elderly
I disagree with her sentiments but the comments that follow hers show the double standards and division in this country. No, the elderly are not “grey haired bullies”, ffs, anymore than the youth are too lazy to do anything and “raised in front of a computer”. Jesus the lack of solidarity would get you down. Both the young and the old were f*cked over in this budget. It isn’t a competition of who got f*cked over the most. A divided public fighting over scraps. Its actually depressing.
Are you a blueshirt troll
just watch people how the political class divide the people so they can keep robbing us ,come on these grey haired heroes
major idiot
Suzana I think you should do a little bit of real research and get real facts of what life in Ireland for the ordinary people in the 50/60 & 70s. Standard tax @47%,mortgages if you could get one at 18.5% interest and 20 years the max. A time when many families had to split when dad went abroad for to earn enough to rear his kids. The benefits we seek today WE paid for. Btw many who got 3rd level education went to night classes and lectures and paid 100% of the cost.
Well put Frank..
As far as I’m concerned pensioners will just have suck it up like the rest of us. This is the first year they’ve really being hit hard. Join the club.
Nice of you to try and drag everyone down with you. They’re the only social grouping that have stood up for themselves
Get the water cannons out!!
gb you are a disgrace 64 billion gone down the drain in ANGLO IRISH BANK alone that they tax payer will never see. 30 something billion gone in to nama this is the wealthy peoples social welfare and also billions fired in to other bust banks along with pension fund in ireland being cleaned out by criminals and nobody in jail .they people responsible for this are being protected by FF FG LAB,they sit up there in kildare st as if white collar crime does not exist.
Again more Irish people moaning!! We’re in recession it’s the budget expect cuts!!
It’s like people who complain about the cold in December & January!
It’s the way cuts are imposed. Pensioners are not moaning they are demonstrating the concern at the blanket cuts.
An what exactly are you doing? Moaning about moaning!! Defeats your purpose really huh! The government actually fear protests by the elderly population as they make up a very high percentage of the electorate as old people always vote. Especially when compared to the youth of the country who going by past elections rarely make large turnouts
I’m not moaning I’m highlighting the problem of Irish people & their moaning!!
I don’t consider myself Irish either, I’m a Northside Dub
That explains a lot.
U wont find anyone in the country disagreeing with that
Fintan are you moaning about the moaning about moaning?
I can’t believe the comments from above.
They are right to protest. They have paid into the government coffers for their entire working career. Some are now very sick and vulnerable living on their own.
Someone made a comment above ‘they should suck it up like the rest of us’. Are you for real? You mean suck it up like the developers receiving payments from NAMA so they can survive. Like the Anglo bankers that were recorded lying to the government, who have fled the country.
I could go on and on.
Everybody should be out marching. The government love a ‘them and us’ debate (maybe that’s also what some of the above commentators want).
It’s just pathetic to say pensioners should ‘just suck it up’.
Moaning would indicate showing open dissent on a particular subject…. Im just happy the coffee machine is working ha ha
When did anyone say ‘they should just suck it up’? Where does that quote exist??
Have you been smoking hash this morning Deaglan?
CBS you do not hear ahearn cowen or the thousands of b——–s with gold plated pensions complaining about the cuts these poor impoverished criminals.
Read the comments i think your the one smoking hash
Galwaybay
2 hours ago # 67 74 As far as I’m concerned pensioners will just have suck it up like the rest of us. This is the first year they’ve really being hit hard. Join the club.
@Can’t be stopped..
Please open your eyes and read before you post comment.
You’ve just made yourself look silly..
Twice!
Your error in this comment and by saying I smoke hash (please read my comments again, or don’t read them again, as you’ve already done).
My comment in a previous piece was not that I smoke weed. I don’t. I said I believe that it should be legalised, or at least the law should be looked at.. but that’s in a whole different post.
You really need to learn to read before you post. Honestly, I’m helping you here. You are just going to make yourself look silly, trying to have meaningful debate if you have trouble reading comment.
Good lady/lad…
(I can’t tell from your title).
…I simply read your posts.
Enda, get off the internet and do some work ya big tool.
Luckily it’s free for them to travel to protest
First rule of politics dont mess with the pensioners. Go pensioners ♥. Very sad there was emphasis by government to touch the elderly and vulnerable in our society very sad.
Susanna,they’ve worked all their
working lives…..It’s their money,not some mysterious pot of gold at the end of a rainbow
The very best of luck to them.
Would be nice if the Senior Citizens showed solidarity with the students and youth who have faced far more savage cuts than they have and are paying for their pensions and entitlements right now.
Graham perhaps if the Senior Citizens had not made sacrifices throughout their working lives the student numbers in Ireland would still be the same as they were in the 40′s.Through our hard work and paying high taxes,
outrageous interest rates on homes in which to rear our families we tried to make a decent country for our children and grandchildren to grow up in. Most of the people protesting today gained little from the celtic tiger and the fact that reckless people squandered it is not our fault.
Suggest you do a little bit of research into what Ireland was really like for us in the 50/60 & 70′s and then decide whether or not we have a right to protest.n Thankfully not all of reared thankless individuals like we are meeting on these pages for past few days. Being old does not mean we sit in the corner and shut up.
Mr McCarney, I applaud you. Your comment is filled with dignity and obvious experience on this subject, unlike those who would claim to have an opinion on something they obviously know so little about.
Thank you for comment.
What’s wrong with means testing over 70s ? A household name Business Man in front of me in a Pharmacy in North Dublin produces his Medical Card for his and Wife’s medication. That money is needed elsewhere !
It is needed elsewhere — in the vaults of impoverished German and British banks.
Thank you for enlightening me. Saves me going on the march.
No point being a Victor Meldrew Karl. You know what I mean, most have a valid reason to March but some are there for selfish reasons. I get nothing for free and I cannot see anything wrong with Means Testing, simples !
Agree re means testing. Absolutely nothing wrong with it. Pensioners have been mostly shielded from the cuts compared to other sections of society, most notably the youth. And it’s because politicians are afraid of the elderly and not the youth.
If the younger people had the get up and go to protest like these people the govt would have to listen,some sit on the couchers 24/7 whom have been whinging all their lives get what they deserve,so either get over it and stop whinging or get off yer arse.
Wonder if the Garda will have the steel ringed fortress around Leinster house and 400 in on o/t ??? The pensioners being obviously a wild lot of trouble makers :/ or if there will be dawn raids on pensioners homes later in the week for public order offences…
Stand by your Nan folks…
Another protest, be like every other shite protest in this joke of a country lots of keyboard warriors but ask them to put down the Dutch gold turn off the tv an get out protest an about 12 will turn up. Government shafts everyone and we’ll just lie down an take it. That’s the truth of it.
Fair play to them, free fuel for 6 months, electricity, gas, travel medical cards we should give them free shopping vouchers for xmas and Easter and paddys day as well. Bunch of moaners with nothing to do but moan
After reading the comments on here i can say that there people on here knocking the grey haired for protesting to the point that it is organised ,the main reason i read the journal is to educate my self on how other people interpret the news being fed to us ,if you look at RTE its a government PR mouth piece,
Bluemist it would seem that your r chosen name which you hide your true identity behind is well chosen because your facts are so far off the truth that one must conclude you brain must be indeed clouded by some self administered substance.
Like many others I get my pension and fcuk all else.No free fuel,tv or anything that some of you plonquers are suggesting. I have a travel pass and the nearest bus route is 10 miles away, train about the same.I get around with the aid of a walking stick and pain killers. At one stage in my working life I was paying enough tax to keep 4 of you dossers in comfort and now my rights to a simple life in retirement are being eroded to keep you and your feckless families in Nike runners and Sky TV.
Lot of pensioners are well off, not all. These things should be means tested. If you are a retired Guard or Teacher or Nurse on a pension of 25-30k then there is no way in hell that you should be getting so much free. How is that fair. To get a pension that size they would have had to have put every single penny they ever earned in to a pension fund and that would probably still fall short.
Means testing for young and old.
@SeanieRyan, can you back that up? Most private pension schemes deliver far more than the state does for far less cost. Civil Service pensions have always been part of their pay package and until recently they did not get the same take home pay as those of us in the private sector. When I was still in the rat race I could always get at least 25% more plus a company car than the Civil Service paid and that was both here and in the UK.
As a great Priest once said – “It’s like a big tide of jam coming toward us, but jam made out of old women.”
My parents worked all their life too and endured hard times, just like most other people here in Ireland. However, they are hardly taking their pensions away. They have taken their 20 euro telephone allowance are means testing their entitlement to their medical card and have increased their pescription charge to 2.50. And Yes I know everyone know there are exceptions
be care full political class trying to divide us.
You are right Bill.
It’s something that happens when teachers wages are raised, also doctors hours (I could go on). I know there’s government supporters on here who’s mission it is to do just that, divide opinion.
Hard to believe..
@ bill butler, you are spot on bill, this government, no the political system in this country is all about trying to devide public opinion and split the people so as they are no longer a force to be reckoned with. instead of arguing over “who got cut by so much” and “why did they cut us and not them” the people of this country need to stand together and fight against the REAL enemy of the state, its own government ! by constantly kow towing to the E.U. the Troika and the Bundersbank, this government has sold this country to the lowest bidder, they have put thier own personal interest above those of the country, lining themselves up for jobs in the European parliament garavy train when thier stint in this country is over. they have lied and protected the very people that brought this country to its knees, they have given away the countries souverenty without even consulting the people all to save a corrupt and inefficiant financial system and protect the very wealthy while cutting those who counls least afford it.
good luck to those that march in protest be they young or elderly, it is only when the people of this island unite and march as one that this shower of self serving ,greedy,pigheaded gombeens will listen.
They should use hoses on them and that’ll shut them up – take the hit like the rest of us grey brigade.
Say “grey brigade” ten times, really fast. Impossible!!
ah here we have one of kennys advisers on about 160 grand a year telling the older generation to take it lying down , come on the greys show the young people how its done.
Ha ha your right I can’t do it!
Do they know what they’re protesting about.
Idiots like you, having a vote!
It started out as a protest about pensions but they forget half way through it and it has turned in to a bridge playing afternoon.
Hope they’ve had their flu jab…..
The bits I’m heard from politicians was that if required there are other methods to cover these cuts.
Most of these schemes were financial electioneering. I welcome anyone to challenge this
They haven’t a leg to stand on. They are the wealthiest demographic in Ireland by far and have screwed the rest of us. The elderly have a fraction of the poverty rate of children and want to keep it that way.
Lets also be clear, they didn’t pay for the pension they are receiving. They paid in a much smaller amount than they are receiving but the pension was bumped up during the boom years by FF. They are still much better off than they were a decade ago.
This image of pensioners are poor needs to go away. There are poor pensioners and they should be supported by means-tested payments and supports. But as a group they are the wealthiest part of our society. Free medical cards for everyone over 70 is a joke. As is many of the other universal benefits.
Not all pensioners are equal and treating them so is wrong. Means testing needs to be brought in.
Rock on man.ha
Means test all the way and a 90% super tax on all the ill gotten pensions in the civil service over 40K per year
This post proves how begrudging the Irish really are, why would anyone oppose free travel, help with phone, heating and other bills, and because our Seniors decide to take a stand to protect what they have paid in to for the working life some on here mock and berate them, if all you clowns with your smart comments and your like joined our seniors maybe things would change!
Here, Here, easy to take shots like dirty little snipers and be an armchair warrior. Get up off your backsides, join your fellow citizens and send a strong message! You’ll be old some day, we all will and our politicians will have their gold plated pensions! Get out there, you shower of spineless snakes and it’s down the road from you!
Socialism doesnt work.
Socialists don’t work either.
The whiff of self pity from the journalistas and other career dossers who post comments here gets stronger by the day.
have your say