Cut to Child Benefit unnecessary and should be opposed – Nugent

Cut to Child Benefit unnecessary and should be opposed – Nugent Sinn Fein Councillor Mick Nugent is to urge Cork City Council to oppose any attempt to cut Child Benefit payments. Speaking on the Sinn Fein motion opposing the proposed cut, which comes before council tonight, Cllr. Nugent said: “If this was genuinely about seeking a better contribution from the wealthy then it would be focused on income and not on a universal payment for children. The minister is refusing to show the details of the leaked report and so Sinn Fein has a very real concern regarding the proposed means test. Where will the threshold be set? We could be faced with situations in which full payment is denied to people who are most dependent on it. The government need to come clean regarding the details of the report in order to calm fears.” Cllr. Nugent said that the proposed cut flies in the face of the idea of cherishing all the children of the nation equally and that there are very real and workable alternatives. Cllr. Nugent continued: “Sinn Fein has proposed a third tax rate of 48% on incomes over and above €100,000. This would bring in €365 million while the proposed cut in Child Benefit amounts only to €200 million. This would raise much needed finance without running the risk of the vulnerable being impacted adversely. Secondly, if savings are to be made with regard to spending on children, the first thing to go should be the subsidy for private education, which sees taxpayers funding privilege. There are better ways to bolster public finances without burdening the struggling classes even further.” The Sinn Fein representative for the North-West ward said the move was indicative of a government with a socio-economic perspective that places ordinary people on the bottom rung of the ladder. “The cut is unnecessary. Minister Bruton is trying to spin this one as though she is a modern-day Robin Hood. She is not taking from the rich to give to the poor. It is deplorable that a Labour minister, a member of a party who said that a vote for them is a vote to protect Child Benefit, will oversee this cut. It’s yet another broken promise made by the Labour party to the people at the last General Election.” “It is simply another cut being actioned in order to subsidise the continuing bailout of the banks. I think it is a cynical and divisive move. The government hope that by being perceived to target the rich that they will more readily achieve a public consensus on limiting government social responsibility. Such a consensus will only have consequences for ordinary people and those consequences would be devastating.”ENDS For further information please contact Cllr. Mick Nugent on 087675579 -- Darren O'Keeffe Public Relations Officer Cork Sinn FeinTel: 0852081872 Sinn Fein Councillor Mick Nugent is to urge Cork City Council to oppose any attempt to cut Child Benefit payments. Speaking on the Sinn Fein motion opposing the proposed cut, which comes before council tonight, Cllr. Nugent said: “If this was genuinely about seeking a better contribution from the wealthy then it would be focused on income and not on a universal payment for children. The minister is refusing to show the details of the leaked report and so Sinn Fein has a very real concern regarding the proposed means test. Where will the threshold be set? We could be faced with situations in which full payment is denied to people who are most dependent on it. The government need to come clean regarding the details of the report in order to calm fears.” Cllr. Nugent said that the proposed cut flies in the face of the idea of cherishing all the children of the nation equally and that there are very real and workable alternatives. Cllr. Nugent continued: “Sinn Fein has proposed a third tax rate of 48% on incomes over and above €100,000. This would bring in €365 million while the proposed cut in Child Benefit amounts only to €200 million. This would raise much needed finance without running the risk of the vulnerable being impacted adversely. Secondly, if savings are to be made with regard to spending on children, the first thing to go should be the subsidy for private education, which sees taxpayers funding privilege. There are better ways to bolster public finances without burdening the struggling classes even further.” The Sinn Fein representative for the North-West ward said the move was indicative of a government with a socio-economic perspective that places ordinary people on the bottom rung of the ladder. “The cut is unnecessary. Minister Bruton is trying to spin this one as though she is a modern-day Robin Hood. She is not taking from the rich to give to the poor. It is deplorable that a Labour minister, a member of a party who said that a vote for them is a vote to protect Child Benefit, will oversee this cut. It’s yet another broken promise made by the Labour party to the people at the last General Election.” “It is simply another cut being actioned in order to subsidise the continuing bailout of the banks. I think it is a cynical and divisive move. The government hope that by being perceived to target the rich that they will more readily achieve a public consensus on limiting government social responsibility. Such a consensus will only have consequences for ordinary people and those consequences would be devastating.”ENDS For further information please contact Cllr. Mick Nugent on 087675579 -- Darren O'Keeffe Public Relations Officer Cork Sinn FeinTel: 0852081872