‘Sneaky cuts are disgusting’

WORKING families have warned they risk homelessness because of cuts hidden in the Social Welfare Bill rushed through the Dáil yesterday.

Heartfelt letters were read out in angry Dáil exchanges from families who feared for their future over the cut revealed in yesterday’s Irish Examiner.

It will mean the carer’s allowance will be counted as means when calculating the rate of family income supplement (FIS) — a top-up payment made to low-income families.

The measure was not mentioned in the budget document, but contained in the Social Welfare Bill, which was passed in the Dáil by 88 votes to 47.

Opposition TDs were critical that just two days were allocated to debate the bill when many of its measures were still coming to light.

Minister for Social Protection Joan Burton was urged to reverse the cut which would make few savings to the exchequer but would impose huge hardship on families, according to Fianna Fáil’s Eamon Ó Cuív.

The Galway West TD read out an email from one woman whose husband would lose €330 a week from the FIS because she was in receipt of the carer’s allowance.

Kerry South TD Michael Healy-Rae read a letter from a working father of three earning just €400 a week. His FIS will be reduced from €190 a week to €50 because his partner gets the carer’s allowance to look after his son with Down syndrome.

“We will be homeless. We just can’t be robbed like this. I can’t take any more and we just won’t be able to survive,” the man said in the letter read in the Dáil.

Mr Healy-Rae said the budget was “glossed up” so that people did not know about this cut.

One struggling mother of six, whose second youngest child has Down syndrome, told the Irish Examiner yesterday her family will see its income slashed by almost €9,000 a year because of the change.

Galway-based Michelle Tolhurst accused ministers of attempting to sneak through the measure which risks pushing hundreds of struggling families over the edge.

Ms Tolhurst, who has lived in Oranmore with husband Peter since 2006, is one of around 300 households affected by the cut. The Department of Social Protection said it will mean an average cut of €120 a week — the equivalent of €6,240 a year. But Ms Tolhurst said the true cost to her already struggling household will be €8,996.

The figure, 17% of the family’s income, is based on the effect of the FIS change, cuts to the carer’s allowance and child benefit payments but does not include the impact of VAT changes or hikes in motor tax or home heating.

It means the Tolhursts’ ability to pay for their four-year-old daughter Lily’s specialist care is under threat, despite Government promises that the most vulnerable would be protected in the budget.

“My life changed forever after Lily was born. We didn’t know she would be born with Down syndrome and it was a shock,” said Ms Tolhurst. “There was an option of fostering her, which would have cost the Government thousands of euro, but she is my child.

“I know people hear the number of kids and think about the amount of income we get, but it’s not like that. My husband Peter had a heart attack two years ago but works in Athenry and brings in about €21,000 a year. He’s had his hours cut and we’d be better off if he went on the dole, but we’re not that kind of family. We don’t want to be a burden, but Lily needs support.

“The way they tried to sneak in this change is disgusting.”

Due to the budget changes, the Tolhursts’ FIS payment has been cut from €407 a week to €254 — a reduction of €7,956 a year — their child allowance payments cut by €840 a year, and their back-to-school allowance by €200.

Picture: Michelle and Peter Tolhurst, Oranmore, Galway, with daughter Lily, who has Down syndrome. The Tolhursts, who have six children, will see their income slashed by almost 9,000 a year.