INTO launches national protest against cuts

The Irish National Teachers’ Organisation (INTO) has launched a national protest against the “savage cuts” imposed in the recent budget.

General secretary John Carr said it was unacceptable that young children were being sacrificed to bail out the economy following the damage done by bankers and big business.

He issued a public challenge to the minister to “come out of hiding and debate the issues in public”.

In the coming weeks a letter will be sent to the parents of the 500,000 primary school children explaining the impact of the cuts, many of which were not included in the Minister for Finance’s budget speech.

Mr Carr described the budget as “an attack on young children”, the details of which were hidden by the debate on medical cards and the 1% levy.

INTO’s views were echoed by the Children’s Rights Alliance which said the budget would do little to protect the most vulnerable in society.

“The call for ‘solidarity’ and for the nation to ‘all pull together’ is misplaced, when careless cuts — including a one percent levy — will drive more children into poverty rather than lift them out of it,” said Jillian van Turnhout, chief executive of the Alliance, in a statement.

The CRA also acknowledged what it described as the budget’s ‘saving graces’.

“The €2 increase in the Qualified Child Increase (QCI), although modest, is to be welcomed. The QCI is one of the few existing measures to target income support towards the poorest families — those completely dependent on social welfare.”

Ms Turnhout also welcomed the €581 million dedicated to primary and secondary school infrastructure as “an important investment”.

However, for families on low incomes, the Alliance said the 1% levy will be a hit significant enough to topple some families below the poverty line. “Over 230,000 children are at risk of poverty in Ireland, almost one in four — today’s budget is set to increase this figure. There is no hiding place from the one percent levy.”

The alliance also rejected Mr’s Lenihan’s suggestion that universal entitlements fail to target those in greatest need. “Universal child benefit is about equity and how society values children. Its taxation will not save money for Minister Lenihan.

“Cuts to the child benefit payment to young people, who have passed the cut-off age of 18 years, ... is a significant step backwards. It shows a lack of appreciation for the vulnerability of young people at this stage in their life,” she said.