O Cuív: Wealthy OAPs shouldn’t be exempt from cuts
The minister responsible for welfare payments said he did not want to add to the “fear” among older people ahead of the December 7 budget, but said the age group cannot be out of bounds as the Government seeks €6 billion in savings.
“There are people over 65 who are extremely wealthy in this society and, in my view, we have to look at those people,” he said.
“I don’t think we can exempt people simply because they have reached a certain chronological age group, and say that they can’t be taken into account,” he told the Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection.
After the meeting, Mr O Cuív refused to say how he would make richer pensioners pay, but ruled out means testing the state pension. He said the Government intends to introduce a refundable tax credit of 33% on private pensions, to replace the two current bands of 20% and 41% which he said favours higher earners, but could not give a timeframe for this.
As groups representing older people warned about the hardships facing their members in the coming months, it emerged the fuel voucher scheme to help the elderly and poorer families heat their homes is unlikely to go ahead this winter.
Although more than 2,000 people are believed to have died from the cold last year, the minister said there is still no time frame for the roll-out of the scheme which was promised to offset higher fuel costs as a result of a carbon levy introduced last year.
“I’m waiting for a report from the department, I can’t give a date on it unfortunately,” he said.
Labour Party spokesperson on Social Protection Roisín Shortall, said: “It was shameful that the Government sought to introduce the carbon levy on home heating products without first working out how they would assist poorer households to pay for it. It is even more shameful that they have now admitted that they have no plans whatsoever to help these households.”
Thousands of older people are expected at a public meeting planned by Age Action in Dublin next Wednesday to highlight concerns over budget cuts.
Rumours that the pension would be cut by up to €20 or €30 a month had “no basis”, the minister said, adding that he “regrets the scaremongering taking place” and does not want to “add to unnecessary fear in people’s lives”.
Despite pressure from Fianna Fáil TDs to protect the old age pension, Mr O Cuív said: “To say that nobody over 65 could afford to make a contribution is patently nonsense.”
Just 4% of people aged over 75 are in the top income bracket, according to Patricia Conboy of Older and Bolder campaign group. “It is the case that the older population is not homogenous. Of course, there are older people who are wealthy but they are a minority of the older population.”
She said older people are choosing between heat or food, and in many cases living in single rooms to cut down on fuel costs. “Some of the recent commentary on cuts to the state pension is reflective of a 19th century workhouse mentality which required people to be destitute before they receive support.”
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