Christmas bonus - gone!!

kilns

I believe the dole should be reduced the longer a person has been on it. There have been people sitting on the dole even in the good time with no intention of getting a job and have no intention now, these are the people who should be hit and we all know who these kind of people are

Bill-e

Well you have 8 months to put away a little bit at a time to make up for christmas.

I work in a bar part time and earn pretty much what the dole is. I don't get a christmas bonus. There are many jobs out there, some people feel that they are above such work. Not me.

mandandpeter

nice_guy80 wrote: »

you're able to afford internet access? there's one thing you could cut back on... join a library, us the net there for free to check emails

I would but i need the internet to stay in contact with my family and friends in england, dont say you can move back because my husband is irish and his family is here! and plus the price of bus fare these days it would end up costing more going in and out of town and paying for internet access there! and before you say it, i do not have a phone either lol

But i am sure we will deal with it and manage.

smileysurfer

alanmurphy83 wrote: »

So you should get the same amount of money as someone that is working?

Took the words right out of my mouth! The very thought is ridiculous!! :eek:

Spud83

mandandpeter wrote: »

I would but i need the internet to stay in contact with my family and friends in england, dont say you can move back because my husband is irish and his family is here! and plus the price of bus fare these days it would end up costing more going in and out of town and paying for internet access there! and before you say it, i do not have a phone either lol

But i am sure we will deal with it and manage.

steal your neighbors its easy.

suitseir

Spending at Christmas, in any case, has gone OTT! It results in nothing but waste after it, be it on food, toys (that children are usually fed up with on 26th. December!). It is evident in the Christmas shopping trollies----loading up as if the supermarkets were never going to open again and as for the amount of tinnies bought! I believe that in a lot of cases, that is where this bonus goes. And then you have the credit union loans for Christmas. I think this cut is a good thing....it will make people to have SENSIBLE Christmas spending from now on!

It is the one time of the year where I DO NOT fill my trolly and I DO NOT go OTT with present buying. You set an amount for what you want to spend and you also limit the number of people you are buying for. DISCIPLINE is the name of the game. When you get something for nothing, you just blow it on rubbish!

KittyeeTrix

Sierra Oscar wrote: »

Sorry lads, but just be thankful welfare did not receive more cuts as was needed.

The government cannot pay for Christmas, we are going through one of the worst recessions in history.

Maybe skip Christmas for one year, it sounds dreadful but we are still trying to leave in the Celtic Tiger era even though our economy is in a tailspin.

I agree with you SierraOscar.
We are a family with 4 kids who are currently on the dole. I went back to college last September to try to better our life in the future.
I just can't understand how some people don't realise how hard it is to be on the dole and cope, especially at a time like xmas.
How you put your post was with a little compassion and was not harsh, I commend you for that:)
Of course we will manage but it's even harder when you have people using terms like spongers and lazy!!!!!!

joeystrider

If everybody else, included lower income earners, are being taxed so too should social welfare receive a reduction. I don't think enough has been done.

More should be done to target welfare fraud and abuse. Perhaps it should be means tested. As in those who live at home, pay no rent, should have lower welfare payments.

People who have been on the dole for many years, without legitimate excuse, should have their welfare reduced, just as under 20 job seekers.

This would allow those who are in dire need of the dole and actively seeking work to receive help.

As for the Christmas bonus? I don't get one and I work only a little over the dole. People need to live within their means. If you don't have a job, it is bad, however you need to adapt. Hard but necessary. Buy small gifts and reduce on elaborate spending. Really need all the trappings? Christmas is, after all, a holiday celebrating love - not material items and increased spending.

shoutman

The fact that the Christmas "bonus" was never means tested was ridiculous in the first place. It is a reasonable idea, the poorest in our society can not afford the increased costs of putting on christmas. Be it their fault or otherwise I think it would be a sad day if a kid woke up on christmas morning and had no presents because the parent or parents couldn't afford it. The fact of the matter is i'm sure every year this happens, but purely through the fault of the parents wanting to go drinking etc instead.

That is why groups like the SVP go about collecting toys to distribute over christmas.
This idea of a double payment is and always was ludicrous. My girlfriend was on the dole for a short time and rang up the dole office saying that their was a mistake and that she had been given too much money only to learn about this double payment. It allowed her to get a nice new dress and a new pair of shoes.

Likewise with the under 20 jobseekers allowance. The majority of people who are claiming this are or could be living at home with their parents where it is not necessary to be getting €200 a week. I know of people who claimed this allowance and lived in Bundoran surfing for the year, easily getting by on this payment and only ever looking for token work so they would not be cut off.

The fact is that both of the above should be means tested, it's hard to do but must be done. No doubt there are under 20's doing their darndest, looking for jobs, have no family home to go to and will now be knocking on the doors of charities to help them out. These people will be the vast minority but they must be taken care of.

It's going to be a tough few years, but I think people complaining about not getting enough free money from the government does my head in.

97i9y3941

its means tested for those who are under 24 and live at home,and yes i agree with you,more should be done on the abuse of it,also i think we need a thatcher type person to tell the e.u that ireland shoundnt pay for kids that dont even live in the country

Sierra Oscar

fluffyorganic1 wrote: »

I agree with you SierraOscar.
We are a family with 4 kids who are currently on the dole. I went back to college last September to try to better our life in the future.
I just can't understand how some people don't realise how hard it is to be on the dole and cope, especially at a time like xmas.
How you put your post was with a little compassion and was not harsh, I commend you for that:)
Of course we will manage but it's even harder when you have people using terms like spongers and lazy!!!!!!

Indeed - more means testing was/is needed.

Richard Dower

alanmurphy83 wrote: »

steal your neighbors its easy.

That's what i do!

I think we should make a distinction between the two groups of people cunnrently on the dole. There are those on it through necessitity ie, those who recently lost their job and are unable to find another. And then there are those on it simply so they don't have to work, ie thsoe long term claimants often in case entire families.

JBoyle4eva

I think this year, the Boards Santa Strike Force should aim to help the children of unemmployed parents and gaurdians who will struggle at Christmas by donating to the likes of SVP as well as donating to the children in hospital

mandandpeter

alanmurphy83 wrote: »

steal your neighbors its easy.

:D lol so u are telling me to commit a crime now :D

Naa kidding i have a empty house 1 side and the other side does not have internet!

joeystrider

Deleted User wrote: »

I think we should make a distinction between the two groups of people cunnrently on the dole. There are those on it through necessitity ie, those who recently lost their job and are unable to find another. And then there are those on it simply so they don't have to work, ie thsoe long term claimants often in case entire families.

YEs exactly. I agree with this entirely. Or those who work minimum hours in order to maintain the dole... Those people should be hunted out. The dole should be protected for those who need protecting.

NTLsucks

what the hell...no xmas bonus!! that is not gonna go down well at all, hitting the poorest section of soceity again as usual. and rent allowance gone down too, there's goes my one night out a week if i have to spend more money on rent. this budget is a ****ing joke.

useful_contacts

brianthebard wrote: »

No you don't.

really? so citizens information are lying to people so are they:rolleyes:

KittyeeTrix

Deleted User wrote: »

I think we should make a distinction between the two groups of people cunnrently on the dole. There are those on it through necessitity ie, those who recently lost their job and are unable to find another. And then there are those on it simply so they don't have to work, ie thsoe long term claimants often in case entire families.

+1

NTLsucks

NTLsucks wrote: »

what the hell...no xmas bonus!! that is not gonna go down well at all, hitting the poorest section of soceity again as usual. and rent allowance gone down too, there's goes my one night out a week if i have to spend more money on rent. this budget is a ****ing joke.

Try being a student who gets absolutly nothign form the government. If I had deferred the year I could have signed on and made a killing when I went abck as a mature student. Being 22 and 9 months when returnign to college after signing on for just over 6 months meant that I did'nt get a penny.

seamus

Just to clarify - rent has not been affected.

Landlords get less interest relief on rented properties but you can tell them where to stuff it if they try to raise your rent.

sunnyside

People you might have a job by Christmas.

With rent allowance an unemployed person could be better off than a working person on minimum wage. There are sales and closing down sales everywhere these days, watch out for those for Christmas presents.

RonMexico

NTLsucks wrote: »

what the hell...no xmas bonus!! that is not gonna go down well at all, hitting the poorest section of soceity again as usual. and rent allowance gone down too, there's goes my one night out a week if i have to spend more money on rent. this budget is a ****ing joke.

I work and can't afford to go out once a week, more like once every two weeks. Consider yourself lucky to be able to do that.

puglover

IMO you are getting off easy.
A work placement programme should have been introduced for people on the dole. You should be doing something to earn your keep, even if it's only putting stamps on letters in government buildings.

The 2% levy, on top of the income tax us in employment pay is paying for your Christmas bonuses.

I've worked since I was 15 years old. I'm on a salary of €25K, have a mortgage which I pay on my own. I'm paying €4.5k per annum to cover my college fees to try and better myself. I have about €60 a week to live on once my tax/mortgage/household bills are paid. That has to cover fuel & food & I actually get up and go to work 5 days a week & college two evenings a week. Try living on that.

NTLsucks

sunnyside wrote: »

People you might have a job by Christmas.

With rent allowance an unemployed person could be better off than a working person on minimum wage. There are sales and closing down sales everywhere these days, watch out for those for Christmas presents.

did u ever think someone of us might'n t want a job? there is such thing as the right not to work in soceity you know. what are people who dont want a job supposed to do for xmas now that the bonus is gone?

ShooterSF

Can I say some people on the blow by blow thread really showed up thier me me me attitude by projecting it onto others who showed concerns for those that will be out of work in december by automatically assuming the poster was out of work and staying that way till xmas.

I may not agree with the sentiments of those supporting the xmas bonus but atleast I don't assume that people only care for those on social welfare when they are on it. though certain posts showed maybe I'm wrong.

uoluol

It is a "bonus" ie something that is above the norm. It was something that was great to get when times where good - but unfortunately now things are bad "bonus" items have to go.

super_furry

NTLsucks wrote: »

did u ever think someone of us might'n t want a job? there is such thing as the right not to work in soceity you know. what are people who dont want a job supposed to do for xmas now that the bonus is gone?

Then you don't deserve a penny. Dole payments should be reduced by 15% for every year after the first 18 months.

puglover

NTLsucks wrote: »

did u ever think someone of us might'n t want a job? there is such thing as the right not to work in soceity you know. what are people who dont want a job supposed to do for xmas now that the bonus is gone?

Not if you want to live off those of us that do work. If you don't want to work go live off the land or whatever. It's called job seekers allowance for a reason. You are supposed to be seeking a job, if not you are not entitled to it.

RonMexico

NTLsucks wrote: »

did u ever think someone of us might'n t want a job? there is such thing as the right not to work in soceity you know. what are people who dont want a job supposed to do for xmas now that the bonus is gone?

Starve to death or get off your hole and earn it like everyone else.