The Taoiseach’s announcement today that the Government would not reverse its decision to abolish the Christmas bonus to social welfare recipients amounts to a 2% cut in the annual income of State Pensioners.

“Although the Budget is almost a month away, pensioners know that their income will already be cut by 2%,” Age Action spokesman Eamon Timmins said. “This will cause hardship for those pensioners already struggling to make ends meet. Last year many older people used the bonus to pay for fuel, rather than buy Christmas presents for their grandchildren or to meet their other festive costs. The bonus helped older people get through one of the coldest winters in recent years.”

Today’s announcement is very bad news for pensioners, and it will hit the poorest of pensioners hardest. “If the Government is to live up to its commitment to protect the most vulnerable in society it must ensure that the remaining level of social welfare payments to pensioners are protected,” Mr Timmins said. “Further cuts on December 9 would plunge many more older people into poverty and cause untold anxiety.”

The protection of the Christmas bonus is one of the three key goals of the Poor Can’t Pay campaign, of which Age Action is a member.

The older people’s charity is now urging all older people and their families to contact their local TD and Senator in the coming days to highlight the importance of Social Welfare payments to older people.

Ireland already has the fifth highest rate of at-risk-of-poverty among pensioners in the EU, after Cyprus, Estonia and Latvia, Romania, and just behind Lithuania and the UK. Any further social welfare cuts will only plunge more older people into poverty.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT EAMON TIMMINS, HEAD OF ADVOCACY AND COMMUNICATIONS, AGE ACTION, 087-9682449.