Kildare Sinn Féin challenges Fianna Fáil TD’s to live on Social Welfare

kildare | miscellaneous | press release Friday August 14, 2009 12:08 by Kildare Sinn Féin - Sinn Féin cilldarasinnfein at gmail dot com

Sinn Féin have issued a bold challenge to Fianna Fáil TDs in Kildare

Newbridge Social Welfare Office still busy following the opening of emergency sign on centre in Ryston

Kildare Sinn Féin have issued a bold challenge to Fianna Fáil TDs to live on social welfare for a month following confirmation by Minister for Social and Family Affairs Mary Hanafin, that welfare rates will be cut in the upcoming budget.

Speaking at a meeting in Newbridge Sean Downey expressed his outrage at Minister Hanafin’s announcement that the €21billion social welfare budget is ‘a huge drain on public finances’ saying it “exposes how our government sees its citizens, according to this government, committing the necessary funds for people to maintain an adequate standard of living is a burden on the public finances and should be cut”. He went on “Kildare and my hometown of Newbridge has been hit particularly bad by unemployment and this attack is totally unacceptable, we need is jobs not cuts. This government appears to spend more time pondering what and where to cut rather than creating or maintaining jobs which we all know is the reason for budget deficits”.

Mr. Downey went on to call on the Kildare Fianna Fáil Dáil deputies not to support another savage attack on the vulnerable in Kildare following the removal of the Christmas bonus earlier this year adding “if they wish to support yet another attack on social welfare recipients, many of which have worked for years and paid their fair share. I challenge them to live on social welfare for just one month to see how much of a struggle it is for ordinary people”.

Sean Downey is a member of the newly established Bob Doyle/Dinny Barry cumman in Newbridge which will be launched in Johnsons Bar, Newbridge on Saturday August 22nd with Athy Councillor Paddy Wright and Sinn Féin vice president Mary Lou McDonald among the speakers.