I look at in terms of disposable income. Someone in receipt of rent allowance, ESB credits, phone credits, tv license paid, medical card and then the welfare payment, against someone out working earning an average wage but having to pay mortgage on a modest house, maybe car loan on a modest car to get them to and from work if inadequate public transport available. sometimes the former have more disposable income and this is where I think things are unfair.
I work full time.
Social welfare system is a complete joke by international standards. It is encourages laziness & apathy towards making any attempt to get back into the work force, and in many ways makes it more economically sensible to stay unemployed- which is crazy but true.
The social welfare system also has so many "arms & legs" such as unmarried mothers allowances, back to work schemes, disability payments etc etc it is almost impossible to establish where the biggest leakage is. When everyone is running down the health service in Ireland, how many have actually given a thought to the fact that the social welfare spend in the budget is normally greater than or equal to the amount of money spent on health? The figures in the last budget are approx. €19bn (yes thats billion!!) is the cost of social welfare.
One example of craziness is my sister in law-
unmarried mother so gets approx. €200+ per week, health board pay her rent in a new (built in 2006 3 bed semi) of €900 per month, she & her child have a medical card plus all the other free social welfare benefits. She works long hours at weekends (for cash!!!!) in a nite club/restauarant receiving €275, her boyfriend lives with her (technically not supposed to) and he earns €575 nett per week. Here are the raw figures for that house hold:
Min €1,050 per week net income with ZERO rent or mortgage plus free medical card & benefits- why in God's name would these people ever get married or come off social welfare. How many "working" house holds have over €1000 per week nett after all rent or mortgage payments?
The system is crazy & is being exploited left right & centre- a reform of the social welfare system could reap benefits of surely more than €2-3bn. As compared to the UK or all other international systems we encourage fraud & laziness by maintaining the sytem which we currently operate. It is inefficient, open to manipulation & ran by people who couldn't care less (just look at FAS).
How many more are like them? How many people drawing the €204 have REALLY tried to get a job? What incentive is there for these people to get work?
I would hazard a quess that close on 66% of receipients of social welfare commit fraud in one way or another-
Are all disability allowance receivers really that disabled?
How many unemployed are no doing casual work (even if it just drug dealing!!!) on the side?
How many have actually tried to get a job (which is one of the conditions of receiving payments)?
How many have applied for a new kitchen appliance to their local health board & then sold it down the pub?
The whole system is rotten & needs to be reformed immediately.
Don't get me wrong- I am all for looking after the "weakest in society" but when it has reached the stage that we are at then something needs to be done. Why is there not an inspector for every 2,000 people on the dole? If he called to 5 people a day he would have looked in all his "crew" within 18 months? Surely his salary would justify itself quite quickly in terms of money saved from fraud.
The working man runs the risk of the Revenue Commissioner- who does the social welfare man have to account to?
yea, because that's what he's going to do. He's going to report his Sister-in-law
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