ANGRY WORDS

Whether it’s good, bad or indifferent, everyone has had something to say about the €6 billion worth of cutbacks and tax hikes introduced by the Government in Budget 2011.

THE following is a selection of readers’ comments from irishexaminer.com following Tuesday’s budget. The comments have not been edited.

- I want to know why this budget has penalised families with children. For the past three years, child benefit has been targeted as the easy option. With my husband on a low wage, it was extra security for us. Now that’s gone. First my son lost it when he turned 18 and then with all the cuts from the past four budgets. It is very difficult. I have three other children at school. The second eldest will also start college next year. But I will still have to pay €50 for each of my other two children on the school bus and I will have college expenses also — Jane

- This is a disgrace I am a single mother with twins. I receive a social welfare payment only. I attend college full time and run a household this budget means I am going to be down at least €100 a month which means some major cutting down which basically i can’t afford to do it’s a struggle at times however we get by......now down €100 a month I’m not so sure — Donna

- There is a lesson to be learned here: No matter how stupid you are as a ‘leader’ be it of banking, commerce or government we the Irish people will ensure you get paid as much money as possible to further assist you dragging us into a financial abyss.

To each and every overpaid government minister, public sector big wigs, bankers and even union heads , shame on you all! Mr Cowen no-one argues that your job deserves a decent salary, but a pay cut of €14,000 just doesnt wash — if you were an inspirational, thoughtful, considered leader no-one would argue your salary. But youre not! amongst the top paid politicians you are a failure a dismal failure. Shame on you. A leader leads from the front, do not expect the average irish citizen to continue to pay when you take take and take — sorry you dont always take you also give to BANKERS! Dont worry about joe soap, we’ll just suck it up again! — Francis

- I grew up in West Cork; I hope to move back some day. I now live in France. I pay tax on my income. I pay a “Taxe de Habitation” (a tax for living in France). I pay a Tax Fonciere (property tax). I pay a large social charge for health benefits; however, this only pays some of the expense. I have to have a separate “top up” health insurance, as well. This Budget is necessary. Ireland as a whole was living way beyond its means. For years, I looked at my friends and asked, “What I am doing wrong?” The reality was, I was living within my means and paying what I owed. Unfortunately, few have to pay for the many others excesses. THIS IS REALITY! — Jim

- This government is a joke!! me and my family are losing a lot of money because of this budget, myself and my partner were both made unemployed and have 2 babies to take care of, we barely get by as it is, we barely have enough food for the kids, we only eat once a day because we cant afford more than that, we cant put our heating on until the evening and only for 1 hour to heat the kids rooms before bed, now they cut our money more, now i dont know what we will do — Joanne Martin

- I have two teenage children and I really fear for their future. I always encourage them to work hard, but will that be enough in this horrible country? I know I will eventually have to see my children emigrate while I have to stay and rot here — Sandra O’Brien

- What do you all expect! As a nation we have sat on our asses and allowed these eejits to treat us in the most degrading manner. In many respects we deserve to be where we have arrived. We should learn from our elders! When these morons attempted to mess with the Medical Card, our elders rose up and put a stop to it. Why??? Because these same people knew what it was to stand up for their rights because they had done so many times in the past, 60’s 70’s 80’s.

Over the past two and a half years we have appeared to the rest of the world as docile sheep! How many overseas broadcasts did I hear wherein they were totally amazed at just how “accepting” we Irish are. Bottom line....this Government has absolutely no respect whatsoever for us, the people of Ireland. They treat us utter contempt.

Why is this ? Because they can...and why is that? It is because we do not command respect, we lie down and accept all that is dumped on us. Until we show them that we are re-establishing our power and remind them very clearly that they answer to us, then we will continue to feel, and more sadly be perceived as, mere sheep.....babababaaaaaaaa! — Mary

- In the words of W.B Yeats from his poem “September 1913“, “Romantic Ireland is dead and gone, its with O’Leary in the grave!”

I too left Ireland last year and living in Australia, and am so glad to be away from the scam merchants that run Ireland — Danny

- Well thank you very much. I now cannot return to work after maternity leave as I was already on an pitiful wage but now I would be out of pocket and now cannot afford to go back after cuts and paying for my babies Creche. I loved my job and was doing it, even at the disgraceful wage I was on to better myself and get the experience needed to get a decent job. Thank you so much for ruining my future prospects and now you will have one more on the dole queue thanks to your cuts on the already struggling families.

Well done you lot that call yourself ‘The Goverment!’ As for the President taking a paycut down to €250,000, should we all be grateful for that now, the countries in a mess and you lot still on top wages..

You lot ought to be ashamed of yourselves. Hope you dont choke on your Turkey this Christmas.. Enjoy!!!! — Bah Humbug!

- We need to see bankers going to jail for destroying this country not high tailing it to the US to live out their retirement on off our backs. We need to see politicians leading by example and get more younger talent into the government that know what it is to run a business and run the country the same — eg: don’t spend more than you take in simple maths! You have ruined my children’s future and they may very well have to look abroad for jobs when the time comes! Yet again Irish people have to leave these shores in search of work.

Over 10 of my friends have left in the last two years for jobs in Australia, Canada and the UK! Sorry state of affairs. Does no one remember that Cowen was the previous Minister for Finance when all this stuff was going on! They might think they are doing us a favour by saying nothing but they are making a mockery of the Irish people and it needs to stop! — Irene

- God help as all. i pray for people who are sick. nobody cares. we can die — Maura

- Cuiv is a typical Devalera gobshite going back to the original Devalera gobshite, me fein, is what its all about to them. I fully expect the bogtrotters of Ireland to elect all the wreckers back again. We’re too stupid to learn any better — Thomas Dolan

- Fair play to the lads. The whole thing when added together will finish a lot of businesses that already are borrowing and spending personal funds to keep them going by over taxing the spenders in the country and ignoring the likes of the multi nationals who are in fairness providing jobs but exporting their profits by the billion. Fair play tesco and lidl its a great day — J Daly

- OK tell me how i am supposed to continue, i have two children in college, one other child with a disability, my husband earns 43k gross per annum, i had to give up work to help my son, how do i keep my children in college with the grant reduction of 9per cent over the last year. the reduction in the carers allowance and the increase in taxes. if the applications were based on the net income surely would be fairer. i am done. please tell me how to proceed from here. i am very grateful for the grant i do receive for my two sons in college otherwise they would not be there but please do not cut it any further. how do i make a choice for my three sons to know who is worthy of further education — Oonagh Sheehan

- Why are the cutting social welfare payments when there are so many people that have recently lost their jobs and depend on it. Why not leave it alone and get people on the dole out doing work on the infrastructure of the country, roads, painting schools, cleaning up rundown areas etc? At least this would mean people wouldn’t be financially worse off and the gov would get some value for their money. Cutting peoples dole when they are struggling makes no sense. Use the dole as a means of getting people working and helping to improve the country — Ya Boy

- The thing I find strange is the way that the lawyers have dodged the bullet when its obvious through their involvement that they were central to what went on. Its about time the descent professionals stand up to the privileged elite and their cronies that bring such discredit to the law. There is a need for a new republic that promotes democracy and the rule of law. This budget should be determined by the people and not rubberstamped by a non representative Dáil that has deservedly lost the confidence of ordinary men and women — Bill

- Brian Lenihan wants to.........somebody please pick me up off the floor, wipe the tears of laughter from my face and wax my ears....stimulate....wait for for it.....the PROPERTY MARKET! — Peter Hannon

- Predicting the future is a hazardous business but here goes...

There’s ‘a colour revolution’ (a la Eastern Europe) coming in Ireland... two elections in 12-15 months and the country will settle down to unstitching the mistakes of this politically, economically and morally bankrupt (so called) government. Historically we lag from 0-10 years behind European movements. Think: 1798, 1803, 1848 and 1916. These past months have provided a valuable insight into what Tone, Emmet, Pearse, Connolly et al must have thought and felt when they looked over their shoulders and found no popular support.

But economic necessity will force dramatic change. The country cannot afford the ‘bail out’. Our growth rate cannot service the debt. The country cannot afford bankrupt banks. The fundamental rules of capital and private enterprise dictate that they will go to the wall. We cannot afford our public service or welfare systems as presently structured. The real difficulty we face is finding the political leadership and unity to take us back from the brink — Joe

- What next then if there isn’t stability in the sainted markets? Fire sale of the first born? Government to compulsorily purchase every home in the country so it can sell them on at a knock down price to foreign landlords to rent back? Mandatory public service (slavery) for every family (families of TD’s and Senator’s excepted, obviously), working for free to make some foreign company that little bit richer, to pay off the national (FF’s) debt??

Maybe if we ask Zimbabwe nicely we can get some advice from the nice Mr Mugabe about how to run an country, his is doing so well, and you don’t see any protests against his government in the press or in the streets now do you? — Charles

- Bertie, Ivor Callelly ...and the entire bunch of front benchers...cossetted, well cushioned...some of them with double pensions...the same crowd who presided over the decimation in literacy skills and numeracy skills...many of whom are teachers...doesn’t that tell its own tale? Close your eyes and imagine these people dressed in the costumes from the era of Louis 16th....and then the picture becomes clear...crystal clear. What a vicious bunch...all of them...cowards, to pass this budget...opposition included! The markets won’t buy it because they will read that this is a message to the public service at the top “Vote for us, and we’ll protect you”...after all they will need the co operation of the civil service to oppress the rest of Irish society! — Chris

- How I feel for the Irish people, being one of them myself, although I have’t lived in the country for years. I had my first four children in Ireland, so ladies, I implore you to back to basics, buy the cloth nappies, wash them over and over, will last many a year. I did. had no washing machine, and boiled nappies on the stove, didn’t do my children any harm. look at the savings you will make — Catherine

- You can’t tar everybody with the same brush folks, i’m referring to these people that returned home from the US. I live in a very small village in West Cork. I worked full time and had 2 part time jobs. I bought an old house that was in real bad repair (didn’t get a morgage). I worked and worked til i had the money put together to pay for it. I left it sitting ther until i had more money put together and i started to repair it.

This house didn’t have any central heating or hot water in it. One tap with cold water that was it. And i did it all up bit by bit. I could have gone to the bank and got a morgage and done a real job on it but i didn’t. Im living in the house now, i still have no proper wardrobes or a suite of furniture. No fitted kitchen.

It’s odd bits of cubboards for storage. This has taken me 10 years to get this far so don’t anyone of you dare say that we were all the same boasting about our value of our houses and our decking etc.. And yes there were the likes of you people who came home on hols and laughed at me for not going to the bank and getting a morgage, knocking the house and building a brand new spanking new house. So some of ye had the same high notions as some of the people. It’s not fair to blame everyone for everything here — Thetailwaggingthedog

- I expect those of you that say the dole got off lightly are living around the city areas where there hapens to still be jobs! I live in the far west and i never spent a day on the dole for 25 years up to last year. Now there is nothing, not within a 100 miles, i have done the foot work and my knuckles are sore with all the knocking.

I have a young family, i have an average mortgage. Luckily i put a few pounds away, but that will not take me through the next year, then what? What the dole give me barely pays the basics, but they are saying i must now live on less. Where are these jobs, where is the money being spent on the infrastructure that was promised many years ago to get the big companies in?

What for the future of the west, well there is none, and i’m sure it will stay that way, cheaper to pay the dole (and keep reducing it) rather than spend the billions needed to make it competitive — Michael

- Ah! Nothing like a bit of back biting, begrudgery and mild racism when the chips are down.Back to the Ireland i know and love so well — DaveR

- This budget is just another saga in the incompetence of this “government”. I have my own business and am struggling to make things happen, but am determined to make it work, pay my taxes, and employ people.

I voted fianna fail in the last election because I felt there was no viable alternative at the time, and I might have been right, but I am ashamed that I made that choice now.

The political system is all wrong in this country. Tds and civil servants are more generally more concerned with their perks and benefits than actually representing their people and that is disgraceful.

I don’t want my comment to seem like I am targeting the public service but if I go sick one day, my business does not function and I lose money......if a civil servant goes sick, or misses a day because of snow-they are paid regardless and the system moves on and I have pals in the civil service who, even after the cuts etc are still coasting and comfortable in comparison to the rest of the country. That is fundamentally wrong. I wish things were different in this twisted little country.

Having said of all of this, I will stick it out here because I am proud to be Irish and I’ll fight on because I believe we can get ourselves out of this no matter what half wits are in power — Jonnie