“…the impact of the crisis has not worsened income inequality.”

- Joan Burton, Minister for Social Protection, proudly missing the point. Further comments may have been offered, but were difficult to make out, as Ms. Burton was engaged in rolling around in a big bathtub full of money at the time of interviewing.

Joan burton in opposition what about the children and Joan in government has attacked any family that get a disability payment for their kids this is a hidden part of Irish society today

Cannot take her seriously when she and her ilk voted to make a debt that wasn’t ours, to a debt that now legally is. How in gods name can you honestly stand there and say this,when you and your party support paying out all the money to faceless bankers and bondholders. Go away Joan.

Incredible, after seeing these figures Joan Burton stills tries to spin a good news story out of it. Promises binned in favour of austerity and poverty without an once of shame, its sickening

with a disability my income equality has not remained the same! down down and down again…more down and down..certainly no perks.
disability pension and three cuts in pension in as many budgets, plus increase in meds, reduction in services, ALL services, i have seen a plummeting of how i feel about life, whether its living or waiting to die, this to all gov members, I ain’t livin’

you keep telling yourself that joan, all the way up to labours disappearance after the next general election

Its all about the inflated salaries and pension entitlements lads, nothing else..amazing how vocal this old bag was in opposition, but now has no problem continuing the same policies as the previous shambles.

lets see what the GINI coefficient for 2012 is ?

Joan the most right-wing champagne socialist ever.

Are finlays mob still worried about families wasting their childrens allowance on frivolities like electricity and heating?

Lord Horse Meat, you dont have to decide what gets priority in any given week eg, is it heat or food or types of food , or can i wait for the cash to make the ceoliac bread this week or next? Do i top up on my mobile to stay in touch with another sickie, or can that wait til next week? will i get the hearing aid batteries this week or will i get the medication running low? i even make these decisions and i am a sickie on welfare. You dont seem to understand anything about how the other half lives! i decided to take my electric wheelchair on the dart today to go to dental hospital and then get my hearing aid fixed, it was a long journey, guess what, i burst a tyre and had to fork out 50e for a taxi home, i had to get him to drive me to a bank to get some money, there isnt alot there and i dont have a credit card but he had to be paid. No the HSE will not re-emburse that, which means more decisions have to be made. i live in utter terror.

“underlines the crucial importance of social welfare in protecting the most vulnerable”.
but it is the most vulnerable that they have attcked – and they protect the Rich .
They dont care – Neo-liberalism has been swallowed wholesale – and if some parties lose in next general election – do they care – they are fianancially ok for life .
I was not surprised at FG behaviuor – but one had some slight hopes for Labour — now gone .
more important – are these ” people ” going to get away with this – Now .

Seriously what planet is Joan im a rich cow so it dosent matter Burton living on who voted for that woman,politics is the country is like the magic roundabout the same people get voted on and off and go round and round without ever moving forward,

Fergus Finlay was all for cuts in child benefit before the budget, he’d want to decide what side of the fence he is really on once and for all!! As for Joan the woman is a witch…pure and simple!

@ Christopher -

It’s tough for some people still having to pay the mortgage, I do agree with that.

People who live in a welfare bubble have it on easy street, with a life time rent allowance and other benefits.

I know families on welfare and they are not struggling to the degree that barnardos are saying.

Look at how people live outside of Ireland. Average wage in Czech republic, for example, is about €550. People still live, survive and pay utility bills (higher than here), Water charges. Food prices are almost the same as here. All the tiger did for Ireland was giving a false sense of security when signing up for mortgages and credit cards which they couldn’t afford in the first place. Financial education does not exist in this country.

22% of the population are experiencing 2 or more types of enforced deprivation?

I would like to know what the 2 or more types are. There are very few people in Ireland going without basic food /heat/ water / shelter.

I read the Barbados piece of their website but it doesn’t go into detail on what the 22% of the population are deprived of.

They also mention that “The average cost of staple groceries has increased by 12% since today’s CSO findings were gathered in 2011, with some products increasing in price by 38%”

My shopping bill has going down in a big way since shopping at Lidl.

Barnados also mention “Low paid employment will trap more parents and their children in the welfare system with little hope of escape”

Honestly you would swear that it was a death sentence being on welfare in Ireland. This is not the case at all.