by Bernie English bernie@limerick post.ie
LIMERICK senior citizens are being invited to be part of a pre-budget submission that will outline the needs and struggles of people working with fixed incomes.
The Limerick Seniors Forum, an independent advocate group for older people, is planning a meeting to highlight the issues and to develop a strong submission which will highlight how seniors have been hit by cutbacks and budget decisions in recent for the last seven years.
“The majority of seniors have suffered under the austerity programmes pursued by governments since 2008. We have not received any increase in our state pensions since that date, despite a considerable increase in the cost of living, coupled with the loss of almost all of the household benefits,” a spokesperson for the group said.
The spokesperson added that while the Government has recently announced that it intends to restore the salary cutbacks to certain sectors of the public service, “these restorations amount, in many cases to thousands while all pensioners have been given is five euro a week. This is derisory and an indication of how the Government views the pensioners who built this country”.
The meeting will be held at 2pm in City Hall on Tuesday, September 1 at 2pm to discuss the issues and strategy for the forthcoming election. All senior citizens are asked to attend.
