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DUTCH PRIME MINISTER Mark Rutte’s government resigned today over a child benefits scandal, threatening political instability as the country battles the coronavirus pandemic.
Thousands of parents were wrongly accused by Dutch authorities of fraudulently claiming child allowance, with many of them forced to pay back large amounts of money and ending up in financial ruin.
The fact that some parents were targeted for investigation by tax officials because they had dual nationality also underscored long-standing criticisms of systemic racism in the Netherlands.
Rutte – one of Europe’s longest-serving leaders, having been in power since 2010 – said the cabinet would stay on in a caretaker role to oversee the response to Covid-19 until elections in mid-March.
“The buck stops here,” Rutte told a press conference after a crisis meeting of his four-party coalition cabinet in The Hague.
“We are of one mind: if the whole system has failed, only joint responsibility can be borne. And that leads to the conclusion that I have just now offered the king the resignation of the entire cabinet.”
The rule of law must protect its citizens from an all-powerful government, and here that’s gone terribly wrong.
Rutte defended the decision to resign when the Netherlands is fighting the coronavirus pandemic, with the country facing a surge in cases of a new variant first found in Britain.
“Our fight against coronavirus continues,” said Rutte, adding that the caretaker cabinet would “do what is necessary in the interests of the country.”
Polls say his Freedom and Democracy Party would likely come first in the next elections, putting Rutte in line for a fourth term since 2010.
‘Lives destroyed’
A hard-hitting parliamentary investigation in December said civil servants cut off benefits to thousands of families wrongly accused of fraud between 2013 and 2019.
Many were required to pay back benefits totalling tens of thousands of euros. Reports said several couples had split up as a result of the strain.
Pressure had been mounting on Rutte to resign over the scandal, with the government facing a possible confidence vote.
The clamour grew after opposition Labour party chief Lodewijk Asscher, who was social affairs minister in Rutte’s previous cabinet, resigned yesterday over the scandal.
Dutch far-right leader Geert Wilders, known for his strong statements against immigration and Islam, said it was “right” that the government had quit.
“Innocent people, were criminalised, their lives destroyed,” Wilders said on Twitter. “It is not credible that officials should continue as if nothing had happened.”
Green-Left party leader Jesse Klaver, another leading voice who had called for Rutte to resign, said the decision could be a “new start, a turning point” for the Netherlands.
Dutch media said some 26,000 people had been affected by the scandal.
Tax officials were also revealed to have carried out “racial profiling” of 11,000 people based on their dual nationality, including some of those hit by the false benefit fraud accusations.
The Dutch government announced at least €30,000 in compensation for each parent who was wrongly accused but it has not been enough to silence the growing clamour over the scandal.
Victims lodged a legal complaint Tuesday against three serving ministers and two former ministers including Asscher.
Several parents released a video calling for the government to quit and “Rutte resign” has been trending on Twitter since Tuesday.
Rutte has led three coalition governments since 2010, most recently winning elections in 2017 despite strong opposition from Wilders.
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If only there was a rainy day fund with millions of euro in it we could use.
@087 bed: If only the government didn’t give 7 billion a year to foreigners and NGOs.
@087 bed: Thanks to economic competence we do have such a fund!
@Del Ray: economic competence or a tax haven scheme?
@Charles Okumbu: agreed
@Charles Okumbu: Okumbu certainly sounds like a foreign name to me.
@Rian O’Sullivan: I work
@Charles Okumbu: Also taking up housing an Irish person requires.
@Rian O’Sullivan: I’m going back to Nigeria in 6 months. Too expensive here.
@Rian O’Sullivan: so, should an Irish person who will not work, draws benefits be given housing ahead of a migrant who does work? Me, I am giving it to the migrant who contributes all day long.
@Charles Okumbu: Excellent news safe trip home.
@Darius Guppy: No there should be no free housing given out full stop be it to Irish or foreign.
@Rian O’Sullivan: Really there are no borders, but you don’t need to be so afraid Rian
@087 bed:
We do not have a rainy day fund
Ireland’s national debt one of the highest in the world at €42,000 per person
By 2030, the Irish state will need an additional €8b a year relative to just before the pandemic to maintain current service levels across areas like healthcare and pensions.
1.24pm, 21 Feb 2024
34.4k
144
IRELAND HAS ONE of the highest gross public debt levels in the world according to figures released by the Department of Finance today, at just over €42,000 per person.
At the end of last year public debt in Ireland is estimated at €223b, down from €236b at the end of 2021 but around €20b higher than just before the pandemic.
@087 bed: apple tax is well gone
Ireland’s national debt one of the highest in the world at €42,000 per person
By 2030, the Irish state will need an additional €8b a year relative to just before the pandemic to maintain current service levels across areas like healthcare and pensions.
1.24pm, 21 Feb 2024
34.4k
144
IRELAND HAS ONE of the highest gross public debt levels in the world according to figures released by the Department of Finance today, at just over €42,000 per person.
At the end of last year public debt in Ireland is estimated at €223b, down from €236b at the end of 2021 but around €20b higher than just before the pandemic.
If only our tax money didn’t have to fix Ukrainian BMW cars we might have money instead for our disadvantaged Irish schools!
@Dan The Man: they do love the German cars all right
@Dan The Man: If only we could finish the worlds most expensive building…. for the children like
This was known well before now,hidden just like the homeless figure, the lying of number of houses,the increased on private health, electricity, the operations preformed on children who didn’t need,and not on the ones who still waiting after promises made.
Ireland seriously needs to stop with wastage and with immediate effect stop funding NGOs ..at very least streamline why so many for homeless? Migrants, energy, etc, some with only 4 on staff on a salary of 100k ..
If an audit was done on every single homeless charity/ NGO and checked wages and expenses, and checked what those expenses used for…all the government grants and donations there would be serious questions to answer and justify that expenditure and homeless figure still increasing …
@KO: the swines would still get away lightly just look at dee forbes ffs..
@Maire Hicks: How could we forget, yet that is what they hope for.!
@KO: Absolutely and don’t forget.. lessons will be learned yadda, yadda yadda, it’s ridiculous.
Tell the government your school is an IPAC center and watch as the millions roll in.
@Ichabod Crane: Tell the government you identify as an ipas centre
The fact that schools often have to ask parents to bake buns and cakes so that they can be sold back to the same parents in order to raise money for basics such as teaching resources illustrates just how farsical funding in the education sector is in this country.
The rich get richer, the poor get poorer. FFG strategy.
Remember, before the election, we were told the opposition were “the bogey men” who’d ruin the country if they got into power…
The people voted FFG back in, again…
And now we’re being drip fed the bad news by FFG that the country is already in ruins.
The people voted for this so that’s what you get wait till the economic storm hits our government still won’t care they will still get the big wage and us peasants will be thrown the crumbs while our government look after war torn countries and people who are bleeding this country dry we are on a downward spiral and it will be worse than 2007/8
@giles wolohan: Well done Giles. You’ve just demonstrated why we need to spend more on education. Grammar, punctuation, oh dear!
@Fran Ken: ah would you grow a life
@giles wolohan: I work with immigrants who have better writing skills than Irish people. This is despite the fact that English is not their first language. You should be embarrassed.
@Fran Ken: as I am dyslexic I do ok not worried what you think but to my 80 odd likes to your 0 likes on both your comments win win for me and please don’t comment back I don’t answer fools and me being the bigger fool to answer you in the first place.And I never mentioned any minority of people so your immigrant rant could be seen as slightly a racist comment toward .e be very carful when reading as you say bad grammer
@giles wolohan: Saying immigrants are smarter than Irish is racist? Maybe it is, but not to immigrants. As for the 0 votes, I think I hit a nerve. Truth hurts.
@Fran Ken: are you still awake
TDs need to be contacted about billions spent on ipas centers and going money overseas and tell them it must stop now ,our kids been made second class citizens in their own country , it’s a money racket ipas center for TDs and their cronies who get to own them and not be named!!! fffg traitors
I blame the new 20% tariff for every next crisis/faluire!”
@sakk sa: i blame our government
@sakk sa: it’s obvious who to blame. Cost of EVERYTHING gone out through the roof and the Dept. hasn’t kept pace allocating funding. Schools doing fundraisers and asking for parents to donate – in a first world “apparently rich” country. Go figure!!!
Sure the hundreds of millions wasted daily by our Government, OPW and others would sort this in a blink.
And these are the good times, wait ’til the economic storm hits!
Everything has always been underfunded. History of poverty had us believing it’s good honest ‘character building’ stuff. lol.
A non-story. 34 schools out of many thousands got their books wrong. Could be many reason, many genuine. There’s a fund and system in place to help. Lets call it a 540% increase and activate the wrath and keyboard warriors of the far-left.
@Del Ray: AJ Products in the Ad channel… beautifully played algorithm! Our opinions and ego are more of a reason for outrage than all the supposed causes put together. I wonder if we’re some kind of galaxy wide psychological experiment.
It’ll be grand, if the (majority) Christian kids just keep eating the halal food, blessed by an imam and offered to ‘allan’, that (minority) muslim kids ‘must’ eat, and that no Christian parent was consulted about.
@Ed Brennan: A holy war! lol
If any of the school are catholic schools with a catholic ethos and prayers at morning and lunch and end of day and gender separation and prepare for communion in all of 3rd class and confirmation in all of 6th class and do religion using the catholic religion curriculum and have a parish associated to raise money and a priest sitting on the board why is there no financial support from the church. Just calling a spade a spade here. They are look for it both ways. All children should have equal access to education without discrimination in clean and healthy environments by non bias teachers in a open accepting school environment. From experience this is not reality. If a catholic school has other means why drain the coffers, go ask daddy for some money see how far he will support you.
Apple tax is well gone
Ireland’s national debt one of the highest in the world at €42,000 per person
By 2030, the Irish state will need an additional €8b a year relative to just before the pandemic to maintain current service levels across areas like healthcare and pensions.
1.24pm, 21 Feb 2024
34.4k
144
IRELAND HAS ONE of the highest gross public debt levels in the world according to figures released by the Department of Finance today, at just over €42,000 per person.
At the end of last year public debt in Ireland is estimated at €223b, down from €236b at the end of 2021 but around €20b higher than just before the pandemic.
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