€2 billion on child benefit is an investment not a cost.

Important please note, you are welcome to share and use the information contained in this blog, but please acknowledge PACUB when you do so, Thank you.

€2 billion on child benefit is an investment not a cost.  

Could someone please tell 

Minister Joan Burton that child benefit is an INVESTMENT not a cost?

 Recently in the Dail she has been hinting at further cuts to child benefit, and the introduction of a two-tier system for child benefit, with higher payments for lower earners and those relying on social welfare payments.

She then explained how much child benefit cost €2bn annually!! I guess this is to cause aghast and outrage and gather support to obtain these cuts.  

I wonder has the government not considered the huge impact of cutting the only payment that is an investment in our future tax payers. How this will cost them in the long term….

Yesterday a report told how 10 per cent of Irish population are living in food poverty.  This study shows that those most at risk of experiencing food poverty include those living on low incomes, families with young children, and one-parent families. What was interesting was that report author Caroline Carney said food poverty had fallen between 2005 and 2007, but the most recent data show it rising again after 2009.

Surely this has been partly caused by the elimination of the Early Childcare Supplement from Jan '10, the 10% cut to Irish child benefit in 2009, and further cuts in 2010 and 2011, with larger families taking the brunt of the cuts.  This shows how cutting child benefit has had a negative impact on children and their long term health and well-being.

We all know the dangers of not eating correctly, and food that is cheaper is often less healthy.  The occasional treat is now becoming a staple diet for many. In the longer term being unable to afford to eat well could lead to ill health and higher rates of chronic diseases such as osteoporosis, diabetes, obesity and certain cancers heart disease. http://www.independent.ie/national-news/families-suffering-as-450000-cant-afford-to-eat-properly-3262193.html

How much will this cost the state in future years?   If our children are eating badly now, they could be affected by these diseases at much younger ages.  What price will they pay in 20 years’ time? You are what you eat.

All the 'leaks' about possible cuts, followed by other TD’s saying ‘’no decisions made yet,‘’ is  having a very negative impact on our economy.  People are afraid, austerity is not working, and the longer the government continues to cut child benefit, the longer we will wait for a recovery, and it will increase the poverty bracket with more families falling into it each year.

We need children, Ireland needs babies and lots of them: yesterday David Quinn wrote a piece on why: ‘’ This is a disaster for the future of this country. It doesn't take a genius to work out that the bigger a financial burden you place on young people and young couples, the fewer children they will have.

And the fewer children they have, the fewer future taxpayers we will have. That spells national and social bankruptcy.’’ http://www.independent.ie/opinion/analysis/david-quinn-what-ireland-needs-is-a-lot-more-children-to-balance-generation-gap-3250280.html

I agree strongly, we need to think very carefully about cutting child benefit again before it is too late. In future years we may not have enough tax payers to pay pensions, health care and may be TD’s wages and expenses.

Child benefit was a very progressive move when introduced and improved over the years.  Are we are now going to allow the government to cut again what has become a life line for many families across all societies in Ireland? 

On the  22 of October we see a report from the Irish League of Credit Union’s what’s Left? 1.3 million Adults have less than 50 euro to spend when essential bills are paid for each month.  This shows how so many are on a thin layer of ice that is getting thinner and thinner, we see the cost of living increasing , extra taxes ,cuts to child benefit. Reducing family’s disposable income further, which again see less spending in our economy keeping us stuck in recession.  With this continued path the government is on it will be a long time before Ireland sees prosperity again. 

All of these reports clearly show how families are struggling and need a helping hand. Before it is too late, Austerity is not working cutting the one reliable dependable payment for all children will see many fall though the ice damaging our economy further.

The government may save money short term, but this will cost them so much more in the long term, and if we see many choosing not to have any children  or les , we shall see this affecting the government  pensions in years to come, when you add emigration into the mix, continued cuts to child benefit = disaster. It does not take and expert in economics to understand the consequences of our governments intended path...

Remember Invest in a child invest in a Nation

If you are concerned about cuts to child benefit, get in touch with :
PACUB -https://www.facebook.com/pages/Pacub-Protest-Against-Cuts-to-Child-Benefit/191987877489406
Also Organisers of the March which took place on 3rd of October :
 https://www.facebook.com/2Parentsagainstchildbenefitcuts?fref=tshttps://www.facebook.com/2Parentsagainstchildbenefitcuts?fref=ts
Please also sign this petitionhttp://www.causes.com/causes/795632-don-t-touch-our-child-benefit-irish-government/actions/1689390

March

Important please note, you are welcome to share and use the information contained in this blog, but please acknowledge PACUB when you do so, Thank you.

 On saturday the 3rd of November we dusted off the PACUB- protest against cuts to child benefit  banner

AND

Joined  Organisers 

''Parents against Child Benefit Cuts''

We Marched to Lenister house ,we were not thousands but we sounded like thousands. 

 we were heard and supported, over all a very positive day and we all agreed it was the start and we would continue on fighting the Government against any cuts to child benefit. 

Watch out for both Banners again on the 24 of October when we March in solidarity with other groups against cuts

Our aim is to have our message heard

''Leave child Benefit alone ''

 Pacub would also like to say a huge well done to Parents against child benefit cuts, who done an excellent job on organising the event. not an easy job to do with no big support network behind you.

Some pictures from the day and newspaper coverage 

 

And we are off 

Speech,The first speaker Hazel from Parents against child benefit cuts.

 

Should we means test child benefit ?

As we seem to be getting a lot of questions on means testing child benefit benefit,  I thought it was time to share a piece written asking that very question!

                                ''Should we means test child benefit?''

The government has talked about this issue many times, and on Thursday the 19th of July  the IMF said yes, means test it!!!!  But is it the right decision?  That is the question.

As it stands, child benefit is a universal payment made to all children regardless of parental income.  Is this a good thing? I think yes, it shows we value all children, and we are investing in their well being and supporting our future tax payers.  It shows that we value all children equally, regardless of social standing, and this should remain so. 

But why should the rich get it I hear you ask!!  Now before you all say yes, remove it from those that do not need it, let's think about this and look at the bigger picture.  What will this achieve? How rich do you need to be? If we look at the very rich in the country with children their number is very small, so will it save the money the government want to save? No.... so they will have to lower the bar to include more people.  The consequences of this will be that people who need it will lose it, at a time when the cost of living is still very high in Ireland, where childcare costs are on a par with the cost of paying back a mortgage, so that many will give up work as they can no longer afford childcare, to me this is a backward move as the government will lose out on tax revenue and the potential job losses that could affect creches and childminders as well will result in less tax and increased dole queues.  It will create poverty traps and widen the poverty bracket. 

This would reverse the progressive moves that were made in recent years to reduce poverty levels by increasing the amount paid.  Some will argue that this may not be the best way to target poverty levels, but gains were made nonetheless. 

Now let's look at the rate of child benefit. We are always told that child benefit is very high in comparison with our EU counterparts and the rest of the world, when the government is trying to justify cuts.  Let's see if it is really that good... 

Child benefit is the ONLY payment made towards children in this country, if we look at what other countries invest, we can see that they receive a payment like child benefit, but ALSO children are recognised in the tax system ( in Ireland you can get a tax break for a race horse but not for a child) subsidized childcare, free health care and education.  Will we see the government moving to be more like this and bringing us up to standard?  Again no, I think this is a revenue collecting exercise, and no reinvestment will happen in the foreseeable future. So by agreeing to means testing I can not help but feel we are cutting off our nose to spite our face. 

Instead of removing money from children, should we not take a look at their parents' income, and ensure they are paying the right rate of tax.  Also  it's long overdue to include recognising children in our tax system. 

Many groups have completed documents comparing Ireland to other EU countries, and have found us substandard and below par, the OECD has said we need to do more, and surveys run by the department of pensions in the UK rated us very low compared to other countries.  That was in 2008 before the cuts, so I would say we are further down the list now.  Below are some links supporting this :

 

OECD links

http://www.oecd.org/document/12/0,3343,en_2649_34819_43545036_1_1_1_37419,00.html also http://www.oecd.org/document/18/0,3343,en_2649_37419_43584658_1_1_1_1,00.html

 

http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd5/rrep174.pdf

The above link is to a survey comparing child benefit packages in 22 countries, compiled by the Dept of Work and Pensions in the UK.  It was subsequently validated and used by the Australian authorities to benchmark their package.

 The key data is summarised at the start, pages 1 to 13.

The conclusion on page 13 is also key, it puts the countries into 4 groups ranked in descending order (Leaders, 2nd, 3rd, Laggards). Ireland is in the 3rd group.  The main reason for this is the high cost of rearing children and the dearth of services for children

Also National women's council of Ireland

http://www.nwci.ie/download/pdf/all_our_children_briefing_paper.pdf

I could go on, there is a very long list of documentation supporting the idea of doing more for our children.

I am also wondering why was it not suggested that the government take a pay cut or abolish unvouched expenses and ensure receipts are handed in before handing over monies.  We have failed miserably in protecting children in this state, and this was the one area where  we have made progress, yet now we will regress and move backwards.  An old saying goes'' invest in a child invest in a nation."

The government should remember that before touching child benefit again. 

 

By Niamh Kelly  PACUB member

 

Links : 

PACUB-https://www.facebook.com/pages/Pacub-Protest-Against-Cuts-to-Child-Benefit/191987877489406

Sign the petition set up by Annemarie  http://www.causes.com/causes/795632-don-t-touch-our-child-benefit-irish-government/actions/1689390

March on the 13 of October in Navan with Cassandra https://www.facebook.com/events/277349175710042/?ref=ts&fref=ts

March on the 3rd of November at 2 pm  with Hazel https://www.facebook.com/events/366657730075486/368721499869109/?comment_id=368723886535537&ref=notif&notif_t=event_mall_reply

25,000 say no more cuts to child benefit

A PACUB press release 8/10/12

   

25,000 say no cuts to child benefit

Enough is Enough: No more cuts to child benefit is the message from 25,450 concerned parents across Ireland, who have signed the petition started by Annemarie Mc Nally Rice last week (details below). The total is increasing hourly as more and more parents have had enough of threats of more cuts to this most vital payment for all children.

''I set up a petition on 'causes' on Facebook and set a target to be reached by December of 1,000.....just five days on and there are 25,000 signatures.......the comments left on the page mirror my horror, my anger and my fear - the parents of Ireland have had enough. There can be no more cuts, I am simply a Mom who is very worried about how much more my family can take financially,'' says founder Annemarie Mc Nally Rice.

PACUB spokeswoman Niamh Kelly agrees: ''I urge all parents to sign this petition and give our children a voice, which can not be silenced or ignored''. 

It does not end there, latest news on potential cuts to child benefit have left many feeling angry and ready to protest by taking to the streets.  The Parents against cuts to child benefit march is being organised by another concerned mum, Hazel Freeman Hayden: '' We need to unite and show the government how scared and angry we are over more cuts to child benefit.''

PACUB agrees with Hazel, our children are "Worth it", they are our future and we need to protect them.

Another peaceful protest organised by Save our Child Benefit will take place on Saturday 13th October. It shares the same message: ''Time to make a stand against our government who claims they are trying to protect our children and how do they do this, by once again saying they may make cuts to our child benefit,'' says founder Cassandra.  (see below)

''I hope the government will sit up and listen, we are not going away'' says spokeswomen for PACUB, Niamh Kelly, ''we will fight to protect the only payment made to all of Ireland's children.''  

ENDS

Contacts section

PACUB - protest against cuts to child benefit  

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Pacub-Protest-Against-Cuts-to-Child-Benefit/191987877489406 

Contact Niamh: 0857826118 

Email: protest4childbenefit@gmail.com

Petition, Do not touch our child benefit Irish government 

http://www.causes.com/causes/795632-don-t-touch-our-child-benefit-irish-government/actions/1689390 

Contact Annmarie: annemarie.rice@hotmail.co.uk

Protest 13th of October at 2pm in Navan, meeting point Exhibition Centre 

https://www.facebook.com/events/277349175710042/?ref=ts&fref=ts

Email Cassandra: saveourchildbenefit@gmail.com

March 3rd of November at 12 noon meet at Parnell square organised by Parents against cuts to child benefit

https://www.facebook.com/events/366657730075486/?ref=ts&fref=ts 

Contact Hazel: hlynhayden@gmail.com

Big Families Hit with Big Cuts - a PACUB press release

Big families are being punished for a crime they did not commit through punitive cuts to child benefit.  By further reducing child benefit for the third and subsequent children, the  Government is cutting child benefit, without 'cutting' child benefit.  PACUB, the support group for families, condemns this conjuror's trick, which will hit larger families severely, when they are already at a greater risk of poverty.

“It seems that this change has been introduced to enable the Government to claim that child benefit rates have not been reduced - to fit in with election promises perhaps?,” says PACUB spokeswoman Niamh Kelly.  “Once again promises to protect the most vulnerable are being trotted out and we wonder how different is this Government to the last one.  Children are among the most vulnerable group in society and yet again they are being targeted.  Not just through these cuts to child benefit, but also reductions in fuel allowances and one parent family payments, as well as extra charges for the health and education services that families use.  I noted that the Government was claiming that an ageing population was adding an extra burden onto the health services.  Well that is why we need more children   Investing in our children is investing in our future, but  this Budget will deter families from having more children as well as penalising those who do.”

Reducing child benefit for larger families is also contrary to the vision of Sean Lemass who originally introduced a universal allowance for the third and subsequent children in a family. 

Families crushed under tsunami of latest cuts - A PACUB Press Release

PACUB condemns proposed third cut to child benefit

Children are under attack again. Budget proposals show that the new Government may abandon election promises to protect current levels of child benefit and continue to slash supports for families.

Did children cause the recession? You would think so.

Remember the Early Childcare Supplement? That was the first to go.

PACUB campaigned against cuts to Child Benefit in 2009 and we warned that if the Government cut it once, they would cut it again. And sadly we were proved right.

Since 2009 a working family with two children under 5 has lost €2,624 a year, at a time when bills are going up and incomes are going down. Now they may face further cuts of €240.

“It is criminal that this Government which promised so much is to target children once again,” says PACUB spokeswoman Niamh Kelly. “All the proposed savings are to essential services and benefits that support families. There has been no mention of removing reliefs or increasing taxes on the wealthy. Instead we are constantly told that the Government has to choose. And the choices are always unpleasant. Cut child benefit or cut the old age pension? Charge for medical cards or make more SNA's redundant? Close nursing homes or close hospital beds? It is pitting one group in need against another, while the wealthy remain above it all.

“Once again we hear Government Ministers vowing to 'protect the most vulnerable'. Cutting child benefit is NOT protecting the most vulnerable. It is damning more children to poor food, cold homes and a cheerless Christmas.”

Protest by contacting TDs, Senators and MEPs. This can be easily done using the website contact.ie. Or by signing the petition from Barnardos.