While Age Action welcomed this morning’s commitment from Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection Joan Burton to partially restore the Christmas bonus, the organisation warned that it falls far short of what is needed to restore the incomes of Ireland’s older people.
Justin Moran, Head of Advocacy and Communications at Age Action, said: “Any restoration of income is welcome and will help hard-pressed pensioners.
“But the reality is that older people have lost more than €13 a week from their limited incomes since 2009. The State Pension has stagnated. Prescription charges have increased by 500 per cent. Home help and home care supports have been cut.
“Stacked against this, a partial restoration of the Christmas bonus will not, by itself, make a significant difference for older people.
“We need to see more in next month’s budget, a genuine attempt to restore the incomes of pensioners that will help to stimulate the economy and funding for home supports to enable older people to stay at home as long as possible.”