by Alan Jacques
WILLIE O’Dea has accused the Government of targeting older people in a “disgraceful attack”, using a cut of 616 medical cards for people over 70 years of age in Limerick in a single year as an example.
The Limerick TD also referenced hikes in prescription charges, the abolition of the telephone allowance and the scrapping of the bereavement grant, among the Government’s injustices against the elderly.
However, according to the Fianna Fáil spokesperson on Social Protection and Social Equality, taking away 55,000 medical cards from the over 70’s was one of the Government’s “most severe” cuts.
“Twice in 2013, the government legislated on this. First they took away 20,000 cards, then they came back for 35,000 more,” he said.
“In Limerick alone in the past year, there was a cut of 616 medical cards issued to over 70’s reducing from 15,098 in April 2014 to 14,482 in April 2015.”
Deputy O’Dea maintains that the Government has engaged in “a total betrayal of its solemn commitment to provide more home help hours every year while it is in office”.
“Instead, only 10.3 million home help hours were delivered with the same promised for 2015 compared to 11.7 million home help hours provided in 2010. The Government promised that they would abolish the 50 cent prescription charge, possibly as early as the end of March 2011, but instead Fine Gael gave us a five-fold increase in the charge.”
The Limerick politician went on to describe the abolition of the Telephone Allowance as “mean and dangerous”.
“It is taken as regular income by older people and is essentially a cut of €9.50 to their pensions every month. This is disproportionate, unfair and will threaten the security and welfare of the most vulnerable in Irish society.
“Nor should we forget the abolition of the Bereavement Grant in budget 2014. The Bereavement Grant of €850 had been paid to an average of 22,000 families per annum who are eligible to help deal with funeral expenses.
“The government is now chasing the elderly with cuts all the way to the grave. This final cut is the deepest for bereaved families,” he concluded.
