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43,000 Join Call for Pension Protections By Grainne Cunningham, Irish Independent
More than 43,000 people have signed a
petition calling for the defence of the state pension and other supports
for older people, which was handed into Government buildings yesterday. The 43,533 petitions were collected
by Older & Bolder, an alliance of eight organisations representing and
working with older people. Older & Bolder spokeswoman
Patricia Conboy said older people would struggle to withstand any further
erosion of the state pension or other assistance. Recent research carried
out by Older and Bolder found examples of the elderly struggling to make
do with barely enough, such as watering down their milk, heating only one
room in their home, and using branches and clippings from the fire for
fuel. The Older and Bolder alliance
welcomed the indication in the four-year plan published last week that the
state pension may escape a direct cut in the forthcoming Budget. It attributed this to the 40,000
people who have signed the petition to defend the state pension over the
course of a two month campaign. Ms Conboy said "the acid test
will be what happens to older people's pensions and basic supports in the
Budget in December". She said elements of the plan which were causing
concern included: ·
VAT increase by 1pc in
2013 and a further 1pc in 2014. ·
Water metering. ·
Estimated doubling in
carbon tax over four years. ·
Interim Site Value Tax,
fixed local service contribution of €100 per annum.
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