State pensioners robbed to prop up increases for the salaried classes

EAMON TIMMINS of Age Action Ireland (Irish Examiner letters, November 13) says an increase in the State pension to €200 in next month’s budget would not be enough.

Mr Timmins also referred to pension increases in recent years that were not real increases at all, but abysmally failed attempts to restore the purchasing power of our pension that has been lost through inflation.

For many decades, successive governments have been increasing our State pensions by the abominable percentage method. Instead of equal increases for all regardless of income, it was a case of the smaller our pension, the less we got and the bigger the pension, the more they got — the salaried increases were outrageous.

I once had to protest that a minister’s increase was more than my entire weekly social welfare payment.

For decades, State pensioners have been systematically robbed to shore up the more generous increases for the salaried classes.

The situation now is a scandal. I could draw my State pension for the next six weeks and still not achieve the amount that a TD will receive for one day in Dáil Eireann.

Imagine giving a deputy €1,000 for every day they present themselves in Leinster House.

The €200 State pension must be Taoiseach Bertie Ahern’s idea of conscience money.

Patrick J Carroll

Lady Lane House

Waterford