Deputy Séamus Healy
Budget 2013 is a savage attack on low & middle income families and children.
It targets the poorest people in society, the working poor and middle Ireland while allowing the wealthy to get off scot free.
A typical low income family with two children will lose a minimum of €1100 per annum or €22 a week.
Children are being particularly targeted with child benefit cuts of €10 euro per month for the first and second child and €18 euro per month for the third child.
Labour in particular has reneged on families. The public will recall Labour party ads in the 2011 general election calling for “the protection of child benefit, saying it has been cut too much already” and that Labour was “ against Fine Gael’s latest proposal to cut child benefit”.“Families need Labour in Government”, we were told.
Another blow to families is the introduction of a new Property Tax on the family home- this is unjust and unfair and is not based on ability to pay.
The removal of the PRSI allowance and the reduction in back to school clothing & footwear schemes are totally unacceptable.
The elderly and the ill are also being targeted with cuts to the electricity, gas and telephone household package and a 200% increase to €1.50 per item in prescription charges.
Carer’s find themselves on the wrong end of a particularly nasty cut of €325 to the respite care grant.
Alternatives and opportunities to tax wealth and high earners were ignored.
This is the 6th austerity budget which has in total has taken €27.5 billion out of the economy and will lead to further job losses, emigration and the closure of small businesses.
Seamus Healy Independent T.D. for Tipperary South
Workers & Unemployed Action Group South Tipperary
087- 2802199
Statement from Seamus Healy TD on behalf of The Workers and Unemployed Action Group (South Tipperary) 087-2802199
Workers and Unemployed Action Group Leaves United Left Alliance
Workers and Unemployed Action Group (South Tipperary) at its Annual General Meeting has unanimously decided to withdraw from the United Left Alliance. WUAG will continue to campaign against government austerity, cuts in public services , against the household charge/property tax and for fair taxation including a wealth tax and higher taxes on the incomes of the super-rich.
Immediately after Mick Wallace TD announced that he had withheld tax from the revenue commissioners, WUAG proposed that the ULA call for his resignation from the Dáil. This proposal was vetoed by the Socialist Party. WUAG then publicly called for his resignation in its own name. We have continued with our efforts to persuade our allies of our point of view without success. A short time ago, we again formally proposed that the ULA call for his resignation. On this occasion our proposal was vetoed by People Before Profit/Socialist Workers Party in addition to the Socialist Party. As an organisation committed to tax equity and defence of public services, we now believe that we can more effectively campaign for these objectives outside the United Left Alliance.
In recent months we have become increasingly concerned by the factional activity of the Socialist Workers Party which is a component of the People Before Profit Alliance. The SWP has prioritised recruitment to the SWP over building the ULA. This was clear from an internal bulletin issued to its members on February 2nd last which has received wide circulation. Our efforts to persuade our allies to desist from this approach have been unsuccessful. A short time ago WUAG formally proposed that the ULA call on the SWP to withdraw the bulletin. This proposal was vetoed by the Socialist Party and People Before Profit Alliance/SWP.
It is regrettable that our allies have refused to prioritise the building of the ULA at a time when working people are being subjected to unprecedented attacks and the betrayal of workers interests by the Labour Party is being ever more clearly exposed.
The objective of WUAG has always been the formation of an alternative to the Labour Party with wide popular support on the basis of rejection in principle of coalition with conservative parties. We believe that we can now better further this objective outside the ULA. Accordingly we will shortly register as a national political party and seek support at national level. The foundation stone of the new party will be rejection in principle of coalition with conservative parties such as Fianna Fail and Fine Gael. Participation in such coalitions has repeatedly devastated the political arm of the labour movement. This is evident again to-day.
WUAG is the largest political labour movement body in the South Tipperary constituency. It has received far greater support than the Labour Party in the South Tipp constituency in several recent general elections. It is the largest party on Clonmel Borough Corporation holding 5 of the twelve seats, and holds two seats on South Tipperary Co Council, and a seat on Carrick-on-Suir Town Council.
We hope to build on this success at national level.
Seamus Healy TD 087-2802199
Statement by Seamus Healy TD
Labour gives Go-ahead to Health Cuts and New Attack on Coeliacs
Congratulations to the disability campaigners and the Carers Association who camped outside Leinster House and succeeded in securing restoration of 10 million in cuts to personal assistance services. They have shown that standing up to barbarism works.
But, at yesterday’s cabinet meeting, the Labour ministers allowed all the other cuts including the cuts to home help services to go ahead and there are new exclusions from medicines available on the medical card. In addition to the anti-cholestrol drugs already excluded now gluten free foods are no longer covered by the medical card or by tax rebates. “Director of Older and Bolder, Patricia Conboy, said: “Cuts to home-care services which support older people to remain living at home and within their own communities will result in earlier admissions to nursing homes, longer stays in acute hospitals and anguish for families who wish to care for relatives suffering from illness, frailty and disability at home.” (see newspaper reports below)
I call on Labour Party representatives to take example from Labour Party councillor Paul O’Shea (Ennis) and to insist that all these cuts be set aside.
I have already sought, without success, an emergency meeting of the Oireachtas Committee on Health with a view to stopping these cuts.
The money should be found from taxing the still growing assets of the super-rich.
Net assets of the top 300 Irish citizens have increased by 4.9 Billion Euro in the year 2011 and by 12 billion in the past two years to a new high level of 62Billion! New research carried out by Nick Webb for Sunday Independent, March 11, 2012, has established the above figures and identified the 300 individuals concerned. Those who have gone “bust” or have much reduced wealth have been replaced by 44 new entrants. Wealth has not disappeared but some has moved between asset holders.
Seamus Healy 087-2802199
Member of Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children.
Workers & Unemployed Action 