Women’s lobby revolts against child benefit cuts

A PUBLIC campaign to fight the Government’s plans to cut child benefit is to be escalated by the lobby representing 300,000 women.

The revolt by the National Women’s Council of Ireland (NWCI) will pile pressure on the Government after it meets tomorrow to consider the contents of the Commission on Taxation’s report.

The NWCI said it has had enough of the budgetary policy which it believes has hit women and children the hardest. It has organised a public meeting to channel the emotions of its members and organise a campaign before the budget is worked out in detail.

The NWCI meeting will take place in Wynn’s Hotel in Dublin on Tuesday, September 8 at 7.30pm. This is just days before the various government departments are expected to tell the Department of Finance how much of the Bord Snip Nua report can be enacted.

In the meantime, Finance Minister Brian Lenihan will begin deciding which of the Commission on Taxation’s recommendations will be in his December budget.

And later today Mr Lenihan will appear before the Oireachtas Finance Committee to face a grilling on NAMA. This will allow opposition parties an opportunity to scrutinise the draft NAMA bill before it is finalised and the valuation exercise is set down.

However, the Government has to be mindful of the effect proposed cuts will have as it seeks savings to pay for the NAMA project.

Today, the End Child Poverty Coalition rows into the debate by launching its pre-budget submission. It demands a stop be put on cuts to welfare, child benefit, education and children’s services. The coalition’s spokesman John-Mark McCafferty said vulnerable families had already been worst hit by the recession.

NWCI director of policy Orla O’Connor said, as leaks of the Commission on Taxation report began to emerge, it was bombarded by concerned members. It decided to begin the campaign under the banner, Women Saying No Going Back. This will argue that, not alone can suggested child benefit cuts be absorbed, but earlier measures should be reversed. “We could see from the phones more and more women were angry at what was coming and they also feel the cuts in the other budgets should not have happened.

“The meeting is trying to get our members together to do something about it before it is just announced in the budget,” she said.

Gender issues have already been prominent in the unravelling of the Government majority after female-specific health policies caused the defection of three FF TDs.

Ms O’Connor said they have become even more painful as unemployment trends shifted from construction to the retail and services sectors.

“In 2008 it was more men losing their jobs in construction, but now there are families where two parents are out of work and child benefit might be the only way of providing for their children,” she said.

The NWCI is the first prominent plank in the community and voluntary pillar of social partnership to begin a public rally against the changes proposed by Bord Snip Nua and the Commission on Taxation.