The INOU welcomes articles from individual members and affiliated organisations for our e-bulletin. In this article an individual member writes about the lessons to be learned from the current crisis and calls for real change.
‘‘€203 per week is not enough for many people” a statement any recipient of a social welfare payment would wholeheartedly agree with. This statement did not come from the manifesto of People Before Profit, Sinn Féin, or the Green Party. This was not a political platitude in exchange for your vote.
This was an admission from Paschal Donohue, Minister for Finance, and within two days of this statement the COVID-19 Pandemic Payment had been increased from €203 to €350 - an unconditional sum to employed and self-employed people who had lost their job due to the coronavirus.
A damning admission from the Minister for Finance himself that social welfare payments are inadequate and do not reflect the real cost of living in Ireland. Now is not the time to allow such a confession to go unnoticed. We are facing the second once-in-a-lifetime economic collapse in two decades. Moreover it would be myopic to campaign for broader social welfare or an increase in social welfare. In these ‘unprecedented times’ a more responsible alternative is needed.
Social welfare payments are antiquated. Government assistance is rooted in employability with the coercive use of private companies to enforce Work Fare, ensuring that payments are wholly conditional. Welfare systems built in contempt of their patrons are designed to fail them.
In this time as we begin to reopen, we enter our new normal, talks on government formation are held. Now is the time to petition our TDs, to demand an end to the draconian system. Now is the time for Ireland to be at the forefront of social policy with the introduction of a Universal Basic Income.
As a member of INOU, a recipient of Jobseekers, a customer of Turas Nua and now participant in a Tús scheme, I have experienced the broad spectrum of social welfare supports and services. From this experience, the above admissions from the Minster for Finance and the uncertain future we are all facing, I believe it is now the time we should be advocating real change to the social welfare system.