The Irish Budget robbed the elderly and the young.

The Irish Budget today had me depressed and feelings of 'hopelessness' swept over me.  Not because I'm going to be in the gutter, but the hardships increase like a horrible water torture of drip, drip, drip on your forehead.

To see the cuts on all things to do with the elderly makes me realise how the elderly are really not wanted, valued or nurtured.

35,000 over 70's will have their medical card swiped from them, that card will be given to some rich kid under 5. No doubt about it, in order to fund the under 5's medical card the elderly have been robbed.

Single parents too are hurt.

divorced or separated parents are hurt.

Disabled people and ill people will pay more for their drugs. an extra 1euro per prescription is a lot when you might be taking anything from 5-15 different drugs. so the sicker you are the more expensive it will be.

and if they switch your brand name drug to a 'generic' likelihood is it won't be the same and your health will be robbed.

So 'robbed' is my word for today.

Pensioners over 70 will have their income threshold cut for medical cards

Their telephone allowance is cut so those using alarm systems may be severely impacted.

bereavement grants are gone.

Robbed...

There was no mention at all about the mobility grant equivalent promised to be delivered by October.

So they cut the mobility grant, and the motorised transport grant and there is no replacement.

robbed.

Certainly this government has asked (robbed) the young and the old to shore up this country...without any cuts to the rich who are continually protected.

There is little I can do...and that feeds my hopelessness

With the powerlessness of the past wrought by a Catholic hierarchy intend on making us sheep, the present government's power to make us feel helpless where can we turn?

There will be nothing but misery wrought on the Irish people by intransigent overseas powers and internal maliciousness of Government.

Will any government minister be worried how bills will be paid tomorrow, or whether they should go to bed at 4pm to keep warm and save heating costs to pay for the GP visit, or drugs needed?  No, every government minister, every person in that chamber this afternoon, will go home to a warm house, a good meal, a bottle of sherry, wine or champagne on the table...and they will settle down to the internal warmth that they allegedly 'saved the country' but killed its people.

nice work there.