Disability cut U-turn - In fairness, better late than never

THE Government’s decision to back down and “pause” its highly controversial cut on disability allowances for young people was the only sensible course of action open to the Coalition, which had loudly trumpeted the “fairness” of its budgetary measures.

By intervening in this sorry affair, Taoiseach Enda Kenny has done the right thing. Politically, he has staved off mounting concerns among grassroots TDs. Given its sensitivity, he was quick to respond to a veritable tsunami of harrowing personal accounts, both on the airwaves and in print, describing the plight of people struggling against huge odds to give disabled children some semblance of a normal life.

To his credit, with the Dáil debate still in progress, Mr Kenny had also taken the trouble to get in touch privately with the father of a disabled child, both known to him, in a welcome personal bid to allay their fears.