Government ‘pauperising’ young people, says O’Dea

There were angry exchanges in the Dáil yesterday over the Government’s decision to reduce social welfare payments for the under 26s, with the Labour Party accused of reneging on its promise not to cut basic social welfare payments.

Speaking during Leaders’ Questions, Fianna Fáil’s Willie O’Dea claimed the Government wanted to “pauperise” young unemployed people and quoted Labour’s Eamon Maloney who said the object of the change was to stop the young from watching flat- screen television seven days a week.

On Wednesday, Mr Maloney said: “Parents will tell you that they do not want their children at home watching a flat-screen television seven days a week.”

Mr O’Dea asked the Tánaiste did he agree with Mr Maloney’s comments, or with those made by the youth wing of the Labour Party who described the cuts as “regressive, counter- productive, and fundamentally unjust”.

Mr Gilmore said the four-year plan Fianna Fáil had put together before the last general election showed Mr O’Dea’s party would have made cuts in the region of €1.7bn this year.

“What measures would he take and what additional cuts would he make in the Social Welfare Bill in its provisions for social protection to get his extra €1.7bn?” he asked, adding it “would represent approximately eight times the various changes that were made in this year’s budget”.

Sinn Féin’s deputy leader Mary Lou McDonald asked why labour was forcing young people to emigrate, claiming the Government was failing young people.

Mr Gilmore replied it was his party’s policy to get young people into employment and training.

“We do not believe any young person should find themselves in a situation that they go onto an unemployment payment at the age of 18 and are still on it at the age of 25”, he replied.