Bite the Hand

Is anyone really surprised that a government including Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil has blatantly disrespected the people and even targeted a certain demographic of people?

The saying, ‘Don’t bite the hand that feeds you,’ has lost all meaning when the hand that feeds you has three others behind it; one taking breadcrumbs away; one rearing back to strike you for trying to live a normal life; and one pointing and laughing at you for getting up in arms about the actions of the other hands.

The Covid-payment will be reduced again to match people’s previous weekly earnings. New rules have also been instated, interestingly just as Tánaiste Varadkar announced that those going on holidays would have their payments stopped.

No need to imagine as we have all lived it, but humour me for a moment.
Imagine that you have been cooped up since March. You can’t get a refund on your holiday to Italy to see your sister. You, the partner and the two kids are due to leave at the end of July. Hurray! The government has just released a list of countries on the green list, meaning you don’t have to quarantine upon arrival back into Ireland. The bar you work in is not opening until the 10th of August, another pushback, but it means you can spend your holiday in Italy with your sister, your family and hers. When you get back, you can continue to look for other work and/or get ready for the bar to reopen.
In Dublin airport you are questioned by a member of the Social Welfare department. He is carrying out checks on people travelling abroad. Now you will not receive your Pandemic Unemployment Payment while you are away. Crushing news to receive.

I am not condoning travelling abroad. Stay in Ireland this year. Get on Booking.ie and go have a ball down in Kerry or West Cork. It is just farcical that people are losing their payments when the government is sending mixed messages about travelling abroad and giving themselves payrises, or allowances as they like to call them. They may try and placate us by announcing a 10% cut to their salaries but we all know that what the Irish government, in fact most previous Irish governments, does best is save face with afterthought gestures.