Rabbitte: No U-turn on budget cuts
Tensions ramped up between the Coalition over the weekend with one leading Fine Gael TD even calling on a Labour Party senator to leave his party. Party sources also did not deny reports of a walkout led by the Labour leader and Tánaiste from Cabinet talks last week over disagreements before the budget was announced.
Communications Minister Pat Rabbitte led the defence of cuts last night, particularly measures being taken by party and ministerial colleague Joan Burton to rein in the social protection bill. Ahead of further protests this week over the 20% cut to the respite care grant, Mr Rabbitte said it would still be reduced.
“No U-turn. I understand perfectly well how difficult some of the decisions are. The priority was to protect the weekly allowance to carers: the carer’s benefit, the carer’s allowance, and the half carer’s allowance. The priority was to ensure they would get the same next week as they got last week,” he told RTÉ’s The Week in Politics.
Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney also stood by the planned cuts, saying the respite care cut was a “small reduction”.
A spokeswoman for Mr Gilmore said the Labour leader stood by his comments last week when he said the Government would not unravel any of the budget package.
But Labour Oireachtas members have signalled unrest over the cuts to the lower paid which will be voted on later this week.
Labour senator John Whelan said the Cabinet was a group of “grey-haired old men, who are detached from the lives of working families”.
His controversial remarks to a Sunday newspaper prompted Fine Gael party chairman Charlie Flanagan to call for the senator to go.
“John Whelan criticising Gilmore is crass hypricisy [sic]. Every week. Loud on media-silent and ineffective in party. A real dead duck!” the Laois-Offaly TD tweeted.
Mr Flanagan later told the Irish Examiner he believed Fine Gael TDs would support votes on the budget measures, despite talk of a revolt at the weekend.
“I’m sure there will be a lot of debate at the party meeting on Wednesday. But realistically, I don’t believe there are alternatives to it [the budget],” he said.
Labour chairman Colm Keaveney, however, has emailed all party members asking for their input ahead of a debate this week.
Party colleague, Dublin Mid-West TD Robert Dowds, said yesterday there was a lot of anger over the child benefit cuts and property tax plans. Fine Gael Cork South Central TD Jerry Buttimer also wants the social protection minister to answer questions at his party’s meeting this week.
