Social Welfare (Amnesty Bill) 2012

[Seán Ryan]

Absolutely not. Especially when they use covert phraseology like "control savings" and such, to obscure the fact that they're really saying nothing. Declaring an amnesty suggests that there's lots of criminals about practicing social welfare fraud, when this simply isn't true. Why don't SF instead investigate how much, from the social welfare budget, is devoted to detecting fraud and spinning about it? That might result in some useful information.

One simple question would do the trick. What is the budget for social welfare investigations and how much actual money does it save, as opposed to "control savings" ?

SF would prefer, it seems, to roll around in the shíte with the other muck rakers, pointing out insubstantial and unsubstantiated bogeymen. Helpful? My arse.

[Shaadi]

Given the inevitability of increased targeting of the poor/demonisation of social welfare recipients, in what is clearly a way to distract the masses from the real fraud, the real thieves of the banking world, surely an amnesty would lessen the impact, and be welcome?

The Amnesty is crock of manure. What if someone was fraudulently claiming for 30 years, comes in and says it, that's it off they go. Would that be okay if the sum was in the hundreds of thousands rather than thousands?

SF would want to get their act together, we're facing Thatcherite cutbacks for the next decade. We don't need another FF/FG/Labour type party, we need a party to fight for the living conditions of the average punter which are going to go down the tubes rapidly and at an accelerating pace.

If SF can't deliver a committment to change the golden circle culture then they can do without my vote.

[Seán Ryan]

I should further add that the bankers are very far from being the problem that is seeing both the divide between the rich and the poor widening and the poor being made even poorer. It is not by any competent reckoning, the fault of "the bankers." The bankers are merely a symptom of the malady.

It is the State who suspended reason and law to facilitate all of this. It is the State who nationalised the gambling debts of rich gambling addicts. If SF had either courage or a sense of morality, they'd be screaming, at each and every opportunity, that if they got into power, they'd end it all.

But they won't do that will they? Their only hope, as they see it, for getting into power is to play ball, with the very mechanism, that is the villain itself.

No balls nor glory. Just rhetoric.

[Dr. FIVE]

I suppose the question here is, who are Sinn Féin hoping to impress?

[Baron von Biffo]

I suppose the question here is, who are Sinn Féin hoping to impress?

Government beckons for them after the next GE so they'll want to look 'responsible' to avoid a bad press.

[Dr. FIVE]

house training

[Dr. FIVE]

Given the inevitability of increased targeting of the poor/demonisation of social welfare recipients, in what is clearly a way to distract the masses from the real fraud, the real thieves of the banking world, surely an amnesty would lessen the impact, and be welcome?

slow clap




http://www.independent.ie/national-n...e-3357522.html

[barrym]

You don't think the proposed action would be effective?

In a word, no. Sean Ryan and others further on give what might be termed rational arguments for no, my read would be more direct. Those who get SW illegally will not own up. Those who are getting SW rightly won't raise their heads above the parapet and the SW office people will be unhappy if their slovenly approach is revealed.

Finally, pols will be unhappy if their fiddles are exposed, e.g fixing up people who are not entitled.

Am I wrong??