CORK PROTEST:ABOUT 500 people protested against the Budget in Cork last night at a rally at which everyone, from students to pensioners, was called on to join campaign groups to reverse the changes introduced.
Republican-socialist activist James McBarron told the rally in Daunt Square that workers should fight the Budget through their trade unions while those on social welfare should join groups to combat the cuts in social welfare.
Ted Tynan, a Workers Party councillor, attacked the Budget as grossly unfair and inequitable. He said that even with Taoiseach Brian Cowen taking a pay cut, he would still enjoy a salary 58 times the weekly social welfare rate.
“The pay cuts for the Taoiseach and Ministers announced in yesterday’s Budget were no more than petty tokenism,” Mr Tynan added, “and would not have the slightest impact on the plush lifestyles of a government which is utterly out of touch with the daily concerns of ordinary people”.
Organised by the Independent Workers Union, the rally was also addressed by Mick Barry, a Socialist Party councillor, and was attended by members of the Socialist Workers Party and Éirígí.
Separately, Cork Chamber, which represents business interests in Cork, said that the Budget did not go far enough in delivering a more sustainable tax base and more efficient public spending.
Cork Chamber president Ger O’Mahoney said: “We are extremely critical of the reduction by 50 per cent of employer PRSI exemptions on pension contributions. Also, the increase in self-employed PRSI contributions may dissuade entrepreneurs.”
