Barnados appeals for vulnerable to be spared in Budget

Barnardos is reiterating its call for the Government to spare the country's most vulnerable people on Budget Day.

Yesterday, the Minister for Social Protection Eamon O'Cuiv ruled out the Christmas bonus would be given to social welfare recipients this year.

The double payment was traditionally paid to offset the cost of the festive period - but it was abolished last year.

Later today, Barnardos will launch a report called 'Dreading December'.

The group's chief executive Fergus Finlay said savage cuts which affect the poor simply cannot happen.

"You are going to create and copperfasten intergenerational poverty if you do that," he said.

"We know from direct experience the first thing to go is nutrition, and it's kids who suffer.

"The second thing to go is heating and lighting, and we have worked with families throughout this year who have gone through periods of living in the dark because they haven't been able to pay their ESB bills."