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.

Effectively, the Fine Gael Taoiseach has stolen a march on Labour which, ironically, sees itself as the social conscience of a predominantly right-wing administration. If anything, by attempting to justify the reasoning behind what can only be described as an inept attempt at so-called reform, the party of the left, in addition to losing another TD, will be perceived as out of touch with the realities of daily life for some of the most vulnerable children in Irish society.

There should be no question of reducing the meagre allowances their families receive. On the contrary, the level of financial support should be improved so as to make life a bit easier for them.

Those who blame the imposition of such harsh measures on the troika are open to a charge of rank hypocrisy. Indeed, any suggestion of the sort from the temple of fiscal rectitude should be treated with the contempt it deserves. There is a limit to austerity and suffering.

Surely, it was not beyond the resources of the large army of highly paid advisers and civil servants to have anticipated this political time bomb. Targeting the better-off would be a more acceptable way to save the paltry sum of €7 million rather than cutting financial support for disabled children.

Whatever device is now contrived in the name of reform, the chairperson of the Commission on Social Welfare and Taxation, who is now to review this vexed question, must ensure that the principles of fairness and sensitivity remain paramount at all times.

Meanwhile, the Government will itself be hoping for a degree of fairness at this weekend’s EU summit where a last-ditch bid will be made to save the eurozone and avert global economic collapse. Once again, the thorny question of Ireland’s 12.5% corporation tax may be on the table. On the very eve of the crisis meeting, the latest threat to the vital tax measure has come from the leaders of Germany and France who reiterated the call for common corporation and financial transaction taxes within the 17-member eurozone.

There can be no question of Ireland capitulating to these demands from France, which has long been the leader of a persistent campaign to scuttle Ireland’s low corporation tax regime — the engine room of Ireland’s industrial development. Given the abysmal state of the economy, it would be hard to exaggerate its importance to the nation’s hopes of recovery. The Government must hold its nerve.