Budget 2014 - Hardest hit on margins of society

There is no escaping the fact that two of the more vulnerable segments of Irish society — elderly citizens in their twilight years and jobless young people seeking work — have been targeted by Fine Gael and Labour in the 2014 budget.

As the dust settles, it is not surprising that government backbenchers are under pressure trying to explain the warped reasoning behind a raft of cuts, particularly the decision to deprive elderly people of the telephone allowance and the ongoing withdrawal of medical cards, an issue that simply refuses to go away.

The telephone plays an important role in providing security cover for elderly people living alone in isolated areas. Thus the cost in social and safety terms of removing the allowance will far outweigh the monetary savings of this mean-spirited move.