Concern at cost of living and Mayo’s new “working poor”
I meet them in Castlebar, Westport, Ballina and all over. They are the group that qualify for almost nothing but pay for everything. They are outside the limits for benefits such as back to school allowance, rent allowance or medical cards and are exposed to the full brunt of cost increases. The strange thing is that these hardworking families are experiencing financial difficulty and are what I would call the working poor......
Figures show that while the rates of poverty have fallen, the proportion of families which are at risk of poverty, even though the household is headed by an employed person, increased by almost 50% during the boom years.
Even those few entitlements directed at low income families in Mayo feel more like a sleight of hand than a hand-out. The doctor only medical card entitles someone to free GP visits. Yet that person may not be able to tackle the prescription to tackle the illness.
And then there are the big hits coming down the line, such as gas increases and an expected ESB price hike of between 10 and 20 per cent and the recent prediction that prices for a whole range of household goods will rocket by 10% in the final quarter of the year. All this means that many households in Mayo will see no change in their circumstances as they struggle with household debt and trying to afford the basics for their families.
This government’s dead hand approach to ordinary peoples lives cannot continue. It is spending less on welfare, sickness, old age and disability at 16.5% GNP than the average European level of 27.3%. If serious inroads are to be made into helping hardworking families in this county beat the cost of living we need higher spending on social protection and greater equality in the areas of health and education. The government has the money but is so out of touch and arrogant that it cannot see the need.
If this issue is of concern to you please feel free to air your views on this site, any feedback is appreciated.
I meet them in Castlebar, Westport, Ballina and all over. They are the group that qualify for almost nothing but pay for everything. They are outside the limits for benefits such as back to school allowance, rent allowance or medical cards and are exposed to the full brunt of cost increases. The strange thing is that these hardworking families are experiencing financial difficulty and are what I would call the working poor......
Figures show that while the rates of poverty have fallen, the proportion of families which are at risk of poverty, even though the household is headed by an employed person, increased by almost 50% during the boom years.
Even those few entitlements directed at low income families in Mayo feel more like a sleight of hand than a hand-out. The doctor only medical card entitles someone to free GP visits. Yet that person may not be able to tackle the prescription to tackle the illness.
And then there are the big hits coming down the line, such as gas increases and an expected ESB price hike of between 10 and 20 per cent and the recent prediction that prices for a whole range of household goods will rocket by 10% in the final quarter of the year. All this means that many households in Mayo will see no change in their circumstances as they struggle with household debt and trying to afford the basics for their families.
This government’s dead hand approach to ordinary peoples lives cannot continue. It is spending less on welfare, sickness, old age and disability at 16.5% GNP than the average European level of 27.3%. If serious inroads are to be made into helping hardworking families in this county beat the cost of living we need higher spending on social protection and greater equality in the areas of health and education. The government has the money but is so out of touch and arrogant that it cannot see the need.
If this issue is of concern to you please feel free to air your views on this site, any feedback is appreciated.
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