Fitzpatrick’s ‘income’ equals a prisoner’s gratuity

THE claim by Seán Fitzpatrick that he has an income of only €188 a month puts him on a par with a prisoner.

The total monthly allowance of a prisoner in an Irish prison at present is tagged at a weekly gratuity that amounts to just about the income of Mr Fitzpatrick.

However, the prisoner is accommodated, fed and cared for by the state. Granted the prisoner pays a token contribution to watch television but does not have the overheads such as licence, electricity, heating and other costs associated with the general standard of living. The fact that Mr Fitzpatrick can seemingly pay for all these essentials on a monthly income of €188 is surely a lesson for the vast majority of people struggling to survive in the current harsh economic climate.