Tag Archives: budget 2012

Guest Post: The Mothers Strike Back? By Liz Kyte

Posted on by corkfeminista

The previous two cuts to child benefit had registered somewhere in my consciousness, enough to distract me momentarily from those all-consuming early days of new motherhood.  Warnings of a possible third cut sounded just as I emerged from political ‘hibernation’.

I was incredulous, ‘how could they do this, don’t they know how hard this is anyway?!’ Experiences of pregnancy, childbirth and early motherhood really brought home to me Ireland’s poor record in regard to the republic’s treatment of mothers, children and women.

It seemed so clear, as we heard everyone’s views, except mothers’ that is, on why child benefit was a luxury we could no longer afford, why should we pay for other people’s children, or to keep yummy mummies in skinny lattes, or as Michael O’Leary put it, ‘a subsidy to have sex’, that mothers, and women, are just invisible.

So I wrote letters to my TDs and turned up to constituency surgeries, and I shared all this on Facebook, which if you are stuck at home for large periods of time with a two year old is probably the easiest way to make contact with other like-minded mothers.

Lobbying Ciaran Lynch, Labour TD for Cork South Central was quite soul destroying as a life-long Labour supporter and the low-point of the last few weeks. Lynch seemed quite happy to support a 10% cut in child benefit and to do away with the principle of universality, oh and apparently the Labour Party never had any business making pre-election pledges!

But it was also a moment of clarity too – if women were really this invisible, maybe it was time to abandon the politicians and take to the streets, and with two year old in tow we joined hundreds of families at the Cork ‘Parade in Defiance of Austerity’ on Saturday 3rd December.

Other unexpected heartening moments came from Facebook and the feminist networks.  A lone parent from Dublin has been filling me in on the newly formed Irish Single Parents Fight Back campaign (see their Facebook page), they have already organised a protest in Dublin on Friday 9th December and yesterday (Wednesday 14th December) they launched their campaign by protesting outside Joan Burton’s office at the Ministry for Social Protection.

It is apparent from comments on the Irish Single Parents Fight Back Facebook page that childcare and transport costs mean that not all those lone parents who want to participate can do so, but at least they can support the campaign online and a Galway support group has just been set-up.

Maybe we need to look to our feminist heritage for inspiration too.  In 1971 the Irish Women’s Liberation Movement burst onto the political scene with their headline grabbing media stunts and demanded, amongst other things, justice for deserted wives, unmarried mothers and widows.

It is out of this period that important changes in Irish family law were won; women could claim children’s allowance in their own name and separated, deserted and single mothers qualified for a social welfare allowance.

Women have only made these gains when we have refused to remain invisible and its encouraging that, despite the present attacks on lone parents and larger families in particular, mothers are overcoming huge obstacles and fighting back.

Liz Kyte
College of Arts, Celtic Studies & Social Sciences PhD Scholar
University College Cork

Anti-household charges, Anti-Sewerage Charges, Anti-Water Charges. Public meeting to discuss concerted boycott campaig

Posted on by corkfeminista

Meeting to be held in Edel Quin Hall, Kanturk, Co Cork, Friday the 9th of December at 8.30pm to organise a campaign against the Government’s proposed household charge, sewerage charges, and water charges.

A public meeting has been called by concerned residents and community activists who are unhappy about these household charges which will be introduced in January as part of the government’s austerity measures.The meeting is one of hundreds of similar gatherings that are taking place throughout the country; there are numerous groups after setting up in Cork, and the largest is currently in Skibbereen. A national campaign of resistance to the household charge is being planned which will see hundreds of thousands of families boycott the new household charge when it is introduced in January 2012. “This is the first austerity measure that actually gives an opportunity to resist. We were unable to prevent the likes of the Universal Service Charge and wages and social welfare, however the method of collection of this unfair charge allows us to say to the Government ‘no more’!

“We, the ordinary people of Ireland, DID NOT create this mess, yet it us that are paying for it, and paying for it severely. There is only so much we can take.” said Ann Foley of People Before Profit Cork

The proposed household charge will be set initially at €100 per household, however the Government think tank the ESRI predicts that this will rise to upwards of €800 by 2013/4.

“This budget will cripple any likelihood of economic growth, and ordinary people, many of them in negative equity or with crippling mortgage payments, attempting to get by on reduced wages, are being asked to pay a charge simply for owning the home they live in. This is grossly unfair. The vast majority of people did not gamble on international markets, did not have a stake in the banking sector and had nothing to do with causing this crisis, yet we are being made to endure cut after cut, and levy after levy to help fill the black hole created by the bank bail-out.

“We must send a clear message to the Government, we did not make this mess, we are struggling to keep our heads above water, and we will not pay for the mistakes of the super wealthy. “

The meeting will hear how the household charge can be defeated and bring families and individuals together to plan a boycott campaign similar to what is happening all over the country.

“It’s an absolute disgrace, the media have already highlighted how thousands of families throughout Ireland are left with less than €20 a week after rent or mortgage costs and utilities are met. This household charge, in its first year will amount to a ten percent levy on the money that some families need to spend on food, clothing and education. The fact is, the government is taking money off those who can least afford it to bail out the banks and developers who created this crisis. Even before this charge is introduced, rumours are already abounding that this will rise in time to just under 1000 euros; that’s just unacceptable.  Not only are we being saddled with yet another stealth tax but households that have septic tanks will also have to fork out huge amounts of money to have them either moved or cleaned.”

“The household charge can be defeated. Community outrage and mass non-payment worked against water charges all over Ireland in the nineties and in Britain the poll tax was defeated due to the refusal of households to pay. Its time we told this Government that enough is enough!”

The meeting is open to all. Similar meetings are currently taking place all over Cork, and the country.

Public Expenditure Cuts Sexist

Posted on by corkfeminista

Press Release

Tuesday 6th December 2011

For Immediate Use

Public Expenditure Cuts Sexist

 

Cork Feminista is appalled that the public expenditure cuts announced last evening by Minister Howlin directly target the most vulnerable individuals and groups in Irish society, especially women and particularly mothers.

Cork Feminista spokesperson Jennifer DeWan states:

“The Government has proposed cuts to child benefit for larger families, cuts to disability allowance, cuts to back to school allowance and school transport, cuts to lone parents.

“Women are already more likely to be living in or near poverty and the majority of lone parents are women.  These cuts will push already struggling women and children deeper over the brink.”

The 35% cut to the National Women’s Council of Ireland’s budget – wildly out of proportion to cuts to other non-governmental organisations – is another stark example that this government is targeting women disproportionately.  This comes on top of a complete slash to funding for Safe Ireland, a national organisation representing domestic violence support services, announced earlier this year.  It also shows how fully the government disregards the importance of women’s rights and equality, despite the commitments it made in the National Women’s Strategy.

Dr. DeWan continues: “The message is clear – this government does not support women and women’s equality.  And inequality will not promote economic sustainability.”

With more bad news coming today with Minister’s Noonan’s announcement on tax measures, Cork Feminista urges people to speak out about how the budget will affect them.

Ends

For further information contact:

Jennifer DeWan or Linda Kelly by email at corkfeminista[@]gmail.com

 

About Us:

Cork Feminista was founded by Linda Kelly and Dr. Jennifer DeWan in August 2010 to provide a discussion and activist space for feminism in Cork.  It is a collective of women and men who meet once a month to discuss different issues related to gender equality and feminism. The meetings allow participants to explore their thoughts on issues and network with other campaigners.

CrisisJam

Posted on by corkfeminista

The State We’re In –

A CrisisJam Special

 

Next month will see the latest in a series of vicious budgets entailing almost four billion euro in spending cuts and tax increases. In the days preceding this calamity, Taoiseach Enda Kenny is scheduled to address the nation on television to offer words of comfort and inspiration. The text of his pep talk to the people will of course be depressingly predictable.  We will be told that we are all in this together, tough decisions have to be made, a corner has been turned and that those who really run this benighted little Republic are rather impressed with our appetite for needless pain. The usual dreary, meager fare of half truths and lies will be spoon fed once more to the viewing public. The moment that Enda Kenny appears on our screens is surely one that demands a critical and satirical response, even perhaps one that amounts to an alternative state of the nation address. At the heart of this address has to be an account of the appalling realities of the state we’re in.

 

CrisisJam are planning to mark this moment by hosting an intensive round of critical writing, personal testimony, community responses and any other kind of radical and questioning response that may come to mind. We are hoping to publish a series of critiques and narratives that tell the real story of how this crisis has impacted on individuals, families and communities. We would encourage contributors to use as many different creative forms and media types as possible. Written contributions should ideally be around 500 words, but can of course be shorter.

 

When our glorious leader gets to his feet to explain patiently to all the children of the nation why community schemes must be abolished, hospitals closed, third level fees increased and all the rest we will begin streaming these alternative narratives online. Should the televised address fail to materialise, we will go ahead and post as many critical commentaries as possible over the days immediately before the budget. If you would like to make a contribution please send it to colin.coulter@nuim.ie, preferably by Tuesday November 29th. When placed together, these tales of straitened times will, we hope, offer a counterpoint to the iniquitous dominant narrative of the day. Your support and participation would be greatly appreciated.