Social welfare cuts protest outside the social welfare offices in Hanover Street

cork | rights, freedoms and repression | event notice Friday November 26, 2010 14:08 by Paul McAndrew

Protest called by Social Welfare Defenders

A new organisation of the unemployed in Cork, the Social Welfare Defenders, has called a protest for next Tuesday November 30th assembling at 12-noon outside the social welfare offices in Hanover Street to show opposition to threatened social welfare cuts.

SOCIALIST Party councillor Mick Barry this morning described plans to cut the dole as “nailing the unemployed to the wall to pay for the crimes of bankers” as the IMF published a call for dole cuts, predictions emerge of a €10 cut to the dole in Budget 2011 and a new organisation of the unemployed in Cork announce plans for a protest next week against threatened dole cuts.

The IMF yesterday posted a position paper on their website calling for reductions in the dole in Ireland. The paper has been approved by their head of mission in Ireland Ajai Chopra.

Cllr Barry said, “Dole cuts means unemployed families cutting back on food, cutting back on gas, cutting back on electricity. Have Fianna Fáil brought the country to such a place now that these families will have to find out how much to cut back on these items by logging on to the IMF website?”

Newspaper reports over the weekend suggested that social welfare payments will be cut by five per cent in the Budget and by 10 per cent over the course of the four-year plan.

Cllr Barry said, “This is equal to a tenner off the dole next year and €20 off the dole over the four years. A tenner off the dole next year equals €40 a month less for families that are barely coping now. The unemployed are being lined up to be nailed to the wall for the crimes of bankers”.

Meanwhile, a new organisation of the unemployed in Cork, the Social Welfare Defenders, has called a protest for next Tuesday November 30th assembling at 12-noon outside the social welfare offices in Hanover Street to show opposition to threatened social welfare cuts. Cllr Barry strongly welcomed the initiative.