Health board managers take issue with minister on welfare cuts

A GROUP of health board managers have taken issue with the Minister for Social and Family Affairs Mary Coughlan because they were not consulted about proposed 56 million social welfare cuts next year.

The Superintendent Community Welfare Officers in the Eastern Health Authority area are particularly concerned about changes in the rent supplement allowance scheme and phasing out the dietary supplement scheme.

These managers also told the minister they could have identified much less damaging savings particularly in their discretionary welfare schemes if they had been consulted beforehand.