Sir, – If Minister for Finance Simon Harris is serious about ensuring that welfare dependence does not become a way of life for a minority then he should ensure that welfare payments are incremental, time limited and accompanied by compulsory requirements (strictly enforced) that people avail of work opportunities and specific training courses to facilitate a return to work.
People should be given every incentive to wish to work, and those in work should never be in receipt of a lower income than those on welfare. People in work should not be penalised or disqualified regarding medical or other services because of income levels while those on welfare suffer no such disadvantage.
It should not be too difficult to work out such a system and implement it over the course of a number of budgets.
Such measures should of course be accompanied by equally rigid and strictly enforced laws and regulations regarding tax avoidance and associated loopholes which allow “creative” accounting and tax management that facilitates and enables wealthy individuals and corporates to avoid pay ing their fair share to society. – Yours, etc,
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HUGH PIERCE,
Celbridge,
Co Kildare.
