Speaking to students in St. Columba's College in Stranorlar, this week Donegal Senator Pearse Doherty has said that there are 27,095 Donegal public sector workers who are paid less than €30,000 per year and that recent budget cuts of 5% will be seriously damaging and should be reversed.
“27,095 Donegal workers who are paid by the state earn less than €30,000 per year. All public sector workers have had their pay cut by 5% in Budget 2010, this is on top of income levies and pension levies already imposed last year.
“These cuts did
not have to happen and indeed my party put forward a number of alternative proposals such as introducing a third tax rate of 48% on individual earnings in excess of €100,000; introducing a wealth and property tax and standardising all discretionary tax reliefs among others.
“The government could and should have used this budget to ensure that the people who can afford to pay the most do so, but instead they opted for attacking public sector workers on low and average incomes.
“Public sector workers make a huge contribution to the functioning of our society – from the nurse, to the teacher, to the council worker to the fire fighter.
“The cut of 5% to public sector workers pay will have seriously damaging affects on people who are already struggling with huge mortgages on houses now in negative equity, to sending to children to school and college, to putting food on the table.
“There are other ways of raising the money and I have shown the government how to do this. It is shameful to cut the wages of these 27,000 Donegal public sector workers. I appeal to all politicians to join with me in opposing this cut and to make a stand for Donegal,” he said.
