€3 increase fails to materialise for many pensioners –
Pension increase for many will not even buy a bowl of soup
In October 2015, Finance Minister Michael Noonan announced a €3 pay increase to the old age pension. His boasts of this raise and “promises of more to come if Fine Gael are re-elected” was featured alongside a picture of the Minister with the words “Sensible Steps” written below.
Much has been made by Labour/ Fine Gael of the €3 increase for pensioners. However, some have discovered recently that they will not even get this megere €3. Pensioners who may not meet the full PRSI requirements for the full rate pension will not get the promised €3 increase. Speaking on this Sinn Féins Laois/South Kildare TD Brian Stanley said
“We were surprised by a query from a pensioner last week who was expecting to get his €3 raise. He stated that he was on a reduced pension of €207 per week and therefore received a lower increase of €2.70 per week. His wife came out worse when she realised that 40c of the €3 was being taken out of hers and she was getting €2.60 of an increase. This means that the Government are taking 30 or 40 cent from those who worked hard throughout their lives but did not meet the full PRSI criteria.
When the €3 increase was announced many people joked that they may be able to buy a bowl of soup with it, now they’ve discovered that the increase won’t even cover this. For the Labour / Fine Gael party to treat the elderly in such a petty manner shows that their austerity tactics have not changed and that their attempts to win voters over before elections are simply as Pat Rabitte says ”what you tend to do during an election.”
