Diocesan News
Budget 2005 (R.I.) - Archbishop Neill comments
BUDGET 2005 (R.I.)
A comment from
the Most Revd Dr John R W Neill, Archbishop of Dublin
5th December 2004
At the recent Presidential Inauguration I was privileged to read from the Gospel the profound words of Jesus to the effect that what was done for those who were most in need was done for him. The aspirations expressed in the Budget speech by Minister Cowan are spot-on for Ireland to be seen as a caring society. There is the recognition that economic growth must be pursued, but none of that ?Thatcherite? philosophy that allowing the rich to get richer actually lifts the poor out of their misery. But lest the government think they have a new spokesperson my response to the budget is not entirely uncritical!
The welcome and well-articulated attention to the needs of those with varying degrees of disability in Irish Society has to be received with certain caution. There is frequently a substantia gap between aspiration and delivery. Those at the sharp end of providing for those with disabilities be they specialist workers, teachers, carers or parents too often hear that dreaded phrase - ?availability of resources? - limiting any right of access to a service. For example, within our often widely dispersed provincial and rural population, access to services remains a serious problem.
A society committed to the establishment of stable family units has to take seriously the need for housing and a gesture in relation to stamp duty towards those first-time buyers who badly need to get into the market for quite modest housing is welcome. In this the government have been listening.
Listening for a government is about more than being attentive to the most articulate groups or to those who command the most votes. Listening also requires sensitivity to what is happening to change the face of society. One such area crying out for more attention is the plight of the growing immigrant community in our midst. One would have hoped for some mention of this group as being among the severely disadvantaged. The small supplemental welfare allowance payable to asylum seekers in direct provision accommodation has remained unchanged since 1999.
Some four years ago this Government promised to spend 0.7% of GNP on overseas and development aid by 2007. This commitment was reduced downward a couple of weeks ago by Minister Cowan to 0.5%. The Minister made no reference in his speech to when the original commitment might be realised. More significantly figures released yesterday suggest that the 0.5% figure is to become only 0.43% by 2007. The gap between promise and fulfilment is the real issue of credibility for any policy.
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