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Pictures: 300 carers picket Leinster House over Budget cuts

The Carers Association said they will continue to keep the pressure on the government because carers cannot afford the cuts.

AROUND 300 CARERS and their families from across Ireland picketed Leinster House earlier today over the 9 per cent cut to the Respite Care Grant announced in the Budget last week.

The Department of Social Protection intends to cut the annual payment from €1,700 to €1,325 next year, which will mean a cut of between €10 to €20 in many carers weekly earnings.

The protest coincided with a Dáil debate on the Social Welfare Bill.

Catherine Cox of The Carers Association told TheJournal.ie that a lot of angry people attended the protests today:

I hope the message was made that carers are more angry today as they’ve had time to think about it [the cuts].

Carers will continue to keep the pressure up because they feel very strongly about this issue and they will continue to fight.

Here are the pictures of the young and old protesting on Kildare Street in the cold :

Pictures: 300 carers picket Leinster House over Budget cuts
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  • Carers picket Leinster House

    Mark Mullen (Laura Hutton/Photocall Ireland)
  • Carers picket Leinster House

    Carolyn Akintola joined carers. (Laura Hutton/Photocall Ireland)
  • Carers picket Leinster House

    Anthony Dolan from Dublin with protesters outside the Dail. (Wanderley Massafelli/Photocall Ireland)
  • Carers picket Leinster House

    William Mahony is annoyed with the Budget cuts. (Niall Carson/PA Wire)
  • Carers picket Leinster House

    'Serving time for no crime', says carers. (Niall Carson/PA Wire)
  • Carers picket Leinster House

    Carers at the Dáil ask for the government to make the "right choice". (Niall Carson/PA Wire)
  • Carers picket Leinster House

    Mark Mullen (8) from Ballyfermot protests with carers from all over Ireland at Leinster House. (Niall Carson/PA Wire)
  • Carers picket Leinster House

    Mark Mullen thinks the government are making cuts to "easy targets". (Laura Hutton/Photocall Ireland)

Read: Carers to protest at Dáil today over cuts to grant

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