Charities urge Govt not to cut welfare rates

A coalition of charities and support groups is calling on the Government not to cut welfare payments in tomorrow's emergency Budget.

Employers have been seeking cuts in social welfare to reflect recent falls in average consumer prices.

However, the End Child Poverty Coalition says this argument is not justified as costs facing the poorest people in society are not decreasing.

It says welfare cuts would send more households into poverty by leaving families unable to afford basic necessities.

Meanwhile details of the latest survey by KBC Bank released today indicated that the overwhelming majority of Irish consumers expect unemployment to keep rising over the coming 12 months.

The company says 97% of those involved in the survey expected the jobless figure to keep moving upwards.

However, it says consumers' overall outlook on the economy is no worse than it was a month ago.