Unfair share of austerity for elderly

As cathaoirleach of Cloich Ceann Faola branch of Pobal ar Aire (Community Watch) I find the cut to the phone allowance a regressive step in more ways than one.

It will surprise no-one that this government is going the extra mile in making life difficult for the most vulnerable, and you will not get more vulnerable than elderly people living alone. The constant fear and threat of assault and robbery remains to the forefront of their thoughts, as the long lonely nights of winter approach. Getting a good night’s sleep will be almost impossible, due to hearing noises, imagined or not, outside.

There have been a number of break-ins and robberies in our area over the past few months and no-one has as yet appeared in front of a judge for these crimes.

The Garda commissioner can issue all the calming statements he wants on this issue, but everyone knows where the problem lies and it’s in the lack of Garda manpower and closure of rural Garda stations that gives ruthless thugs a free rein to intimidate and frighten old people to an early grave.

The elderly have been allotted an unfair share of these austerity measures, from short-changing on pensions, to taxing any savings they may have had. All the stops have been pulled out, making it more difficult to become eligible for a carer or home help.

The abolition of the bereavement grant is a real low blow. The law was changed recently to allow burial wrapped in a sheet or blanket.

Was this done in anticipation of cutting the burial grant for struggling families, or is it just another attempt to get the last cent from our dead family members?

Shiny new barriers have appeared outside the Dáil. Is this another sign that protesters with walking sticks and wheelchairs will be kept well back if protests by the grey brigade gather momentum in the aftermath of this latest austerity Budget?

To sum it all up, I know of a very wealthy homeowner who recently spent 15,000 on repairing a window in a listed building, and €25,000 on a curtain for the same window. In my opinion this is the type of people who should be asked to shoulder more of the burden.

Not John or Anne who do not, and never will, live behind a high protective wall, or have to wait for the electronic gates to open before driving through in a SUVs the size of my house. All this backslapping about an exit from the bailout programme, but at what cost?

We are only now suffering the effects of the last Budget which does not bode well for the future of our aging citizens.

James Woods

Gort an Choirce

Dun na nGall