GOAL, the International Humanitarian Agency, said the reduction of €100m from the aid budget could result in the deaths of thousands of people. John O'Shea, GOAL CEO, said, "It's a bad day for the poor and it's a bad day for the reputation of the Irish Government as a caring entity."
On the issue of cuts in rent supplement benefit for social welfare recipients, Aideen Hayden, Chairperson of the national housing organisation, Threshold, has said that a reduction in the supplement will put social welfare tenants at great risk of homelessness. "Rents have simply not fallen in high demand areas - such as Dublin City Centre - and a reduction in the supplement will put social welfare tenants at great risk of homelessness," she warned.
Meanwhile, children's charity Barnardos has welcomed the announcement of the introduction of a free pre-school place for all children the year prior to joining primary school, while the Disability Federation of Ireland (DFI) has welcomed the decision not to reduce the level of social welfare payments, saying that it assists disabled people with the extra everyday costs of being disabled. However, it also called for an agreed multi-annual plan to rescue the implementation of the National Disability Strategy.
