Yet more FF and FG election commitments fall by the wayside – Brady

Sinn Féin spokesperson for Social Protection John Brady TD has said that clear election commitments on the Living Alone Allowance made by Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael were quickly forgotten.

Teachta Brady said:

“Both Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil pledged to increase the Living Alone Allowance on an annual basis in their election manifestos yet. This increase was nowhere to be seen in Budget 2017.

“Older people who live alone are among the most vulnerable in our society. Many of them rely solely on their State Pension for income yet, they face the same increased cost of living as all other households.

“We know that additional charges placed on older people such as the family home tax and increased prescription charges have placed a huge burden on our older people. At this time of year, older people see further increased costs with fuel as they try to keep warm in their homes without any increase in the fuel allowance. These costs are made all the more difficult to manage when a person is living alone and in many cases, relying on one source of income. This reality has been ignored in Budget 2017.

“While Fianna Fáil were busy tripping over to each to take credit for the parts of the Budget that were welcome an entire group of older people have been left behind. This is simply another U-turn by Fianna Fáil where yet again, they go against their own party policies.

“In our Alternative Budget, Sinn Féin included an increase of €9 for the Living Alone Allowance monthly; this would make it double what the payment is now. At a time when TDs and Ministers are in line for huge pay rises, older people living alone will see no rise in their allowance whatsoever.”