Welfare cuts ‘devastating’ for poor

THE Government was told yesterday to reassure the poorest in society they will not be hit by future social welfare cuts, after a coalition of support groups said the last budget had plunged many families further into poverty.

The Poor Can’t Pay, which comprises groups such as Focus Ireland, Barnardos and the St Vincent De Paul, said its analysis of the impact of the social welfare cuts announced last month had proved “devastating” for households.

Yesterday a spokesperson for the Poor Can’t Pay, Dr Mary Murphy of NUI Maynooth, said that €1 from every €5 cut by the government in the last budget came from those least able to afford it.