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"Cut our TD wages to save home help" 18.10.12

A DONEGAL TD has called on the Government to cut the wages of Dáil deputies and senators to reverse the planned cuts in home help hours.
Sinn Féin deputy, Pearse Doherty said: “There are 226 members in this house and the Seanad. We could reduce ministers’ pay to €100,000, deputies’ pay to €75,000 and senators’ pay to €60,000. That leaves every single one of us with a very generous income and would save €4.3 million – over 250,000 home help hours," he told the Dáil.
"The plan to cut home help hours by 450,000 hours is cruel and heartless. This will mean a further loss of 20,000 home help hours between now and the end of the year for people in my county. That is almost 2,000 hours per week. That is on top of the 25,000 hours that have been taken away from that county so far this year.
“Behind every single one of those figures is an individual with a particular need for care."
Deputy Doherty says the Government line that it had no option but to cut the hours was wrong.
Deputy Pearse Doherty
"The minister and government deputies say they have no option but I will give the minister an option. He says he wants to save €8 million by cutting 450,000 hours of home help supports for very vulnerable people. I would tell him to dig into his pockets.
“Politics is all about choices. I would rather ask for my pay and that of deputies and senators to be cut instead of taking away that basic need of vulnerable people to stay in their homes so they can live their lives to the fullest.
“That is the choice facing Fine Gael and Labour. If they make the wrong decision it is nothing more than cowardly behaviour to attack the most vulnerable people in our society.”
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