Government’s cheap cut cancels Christmas for thousands of children

THE Government that stole Christmas. And stole it, what’s more, from thousands of children and families who need it most and can afford it least.

That’s how one of the most far-reaching decisions in last week’s Budget deserves to be remembered. The Government decided to take the social welfare Christmas bonus away from some of the poorest families in Ireland, in the interests of a cheap and easy cut in public spending.

In doing so, they have added a new dimension to child poverty in Ireland. There will be children this year who will have nothing to remember Christmas for. There will be mothers whose stress and anxiety, already high over Christmas, will be unbearable.