€350m a year on widows ‘who are able to work’

A SENIOR civil servant has claimed the exchequer is paying €350 million a year to 30,000 widows and widowers even though the recipients don’t have dependents, are of working age and are completely free to work.

Conor O’Mahony, a principal officer at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Innovation referred to the payments as he called for “deep, searching meaningful” reviews of the Government’s expenditure programmes in light of the attacks being made on the terms and conditions of public servants.

Speaking at the annual delegate conference of his trade union, the Association of Higher Civil and Public Servants, Mr O’Mahony said: “A few years ago, a friend of mine who was a principal officer and earning about €100,000 found he qualified for an annual social welfare payment of €11,000 per year for the rest of his life.

“There are some 30,000 people who don’t have dependents, who are of working age and who are completely free to work who are entitled to this allowance. The exchequer is paying out something like €350m a year on this particular allowance. It seems to me that is the sort of area we should be looking at.”

Last night a spokesman for the Department of Social Protection confirmed that the 30,000 figure referred to by Mr O’Mahony was broadly correct.

Mr O’Mahony said public servants had no problem bearing their fair share.

“However, it looks like we are being unfairly targeted because we are seen as a soft target. We have taken an extraordinary hit. Our members are down 20% in take-home pay, a level of cut that is almost unsurpassed.”