Kenny hits out at threat to child benefits

Family Affairs Minister Mary Hanafin was today accused of cruelly exploiting hundreds of thousands of families by threatening cuts to child benefits.

The minister went on the national airwaves to “fly a kite” for the Government on proposed reductions in the social welfare pay-out, said Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny.

Ms Hanafin suggested three different rates could be replace the present system during an RTE television programme.

Demanding an answer from Taoiseach Brian Cowen on whether it was a serious proposal, Mr Kenny said the vast majority of child benefit recipients were “put to the pin of their collar” in coping with their daily finances.

Some 600,000 families got the pay-out last year and it was used as a central source of income for most of them, he said.

Accusing the Government of driving fear into the families, Mr Kenny added: “The minister did not go on a major television programme to muse aloud in what has amounted to a cruel exploitation of hundreds of thousands of families who do not now know where they stand in relation to child benefit.”

The Fine Gael leader said he broadly accepted the need for €4bn in public spending cuts but insisted this did not require going after child benefits.

Repeating the government mantra that everything was being examined while no decision had been made, Mr Cowen pointed out that child benefits were now costing the State €2.5bn a year.

There has been trebling in the payments for the first two children and 185% increases for third and subsequent children since 2001, the Taoiseach told the Dail.

“Clearly, large areas of expenditure including social welfare are not issues that can be immune from consideration when the government decides what cuts or savings it’s going to make,” he said.

Mr Kenny said it appeared to be alright to pump billions into banks and allow “borrowers of enormous amounts of money to swan around as if they were untouchable by any law” while ordinary families were inflicted with pain.