Pressure group calls for Oireachtas to reject Social Welfare Bill

A group representing the unemployed has today demanded that TDs and Senators to reject the Social Welfare Bill being debated today.

The National Executive Committee of the Irish National Organisation of the Unemployed (INOU) said that TD and Senators are not being given enough time to debate the legislation.

The INOU refuted the inflation arguments used by the Government just to justify the cuts they have made to Jobseekers and other social welfare payments, saying that the Government has failed to acknowledge that changes they made in the previous two Budgets to Rent Supplement and its impact on the cost of living for unemployed people and others.

The Government has also failed to acknowledge the impact of the loss of the Christmas bonus on unemployed people and other welfare recipients expected income - a drop of 2% in 2009, the group has stated.

The INOU said that the clear message being sent to young people is to emigrate.