Phil Hogan, his Household Tax and Abuse of the Elderly.

Eamon Gilmore, leader of the Irish Labour Party, at the party's 2010 conference. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Well, the Fine Gael – Labour Coalition Government which was to bring in sweeping changes and provide the Irish Citizens with a new fresh pro-people Agenda, is this week engaged in terrorising the most vulnerable in our Society, the elderly. The days of get rid of Fianna Fail, those corrupt politicians, seems a long way away, now that Enda Kenny and Eamon Gilmore have taken power. Election promises are out the window while statements by Labour Chief Gilmore such as ‘Labours Way Not Frankfurts Way’ now seem laughable. This Government is a carbon-copy of what preceded it and are solely concerned with implementing the dictates of The Troika to the detriment of the Citizen.

While in the Post Office last week, I witnessed a distraught pensioner enquiring if she could pay the Household Tax at the counter. She was informed that she could buy a Postal Order and then post it in. She seemed confused and asked how much a Postal Order would cost and I think she was told Two Euro. She said she’d have to think about it as she was confused. Later I came across the same lady with some of her friends in a local shop as she searched for bargain cuts of beef to take home to her invalid husband. She was near to tears.

I visit my mother in Nazareth House whenever possible. My mother has a short-term memory problem as do a lot of other residents. Some spoke with me regarding the tax, clearly distraught. Others seemed really angry at the threats being made by Government politicians on the radio and were determined that they would not be paying the tax. They said they’d go to Jail before they would pay. Some residents still own their homes. One American lady told me that she paid Property Taxes when she had her own home in California. She said they were to fund the local school as well as other local amenities. She was happy to pay these as she felt she was contributing to her local community. I asked her would she pay the Household Tax here and she replied in a stong voice NO! She told me that she had paid Thousands of Euro in Stamp Duty when she moved back to Ireland. ‘I never paid Stamp Duty in California’ she told me. She had been advised that in Ireland we had no household tax but that the vast amount of stamp duty she had paid would be the Irish Equivalent to the Household Tax. She was furious that she was now being asked to pay both. She became distressed and I decided it prudent to leave her in the care of the helpers. I must say she was a lovely woman. Fair to all she met and now was suffering unnecessary stress by being Threatened with this new Tax. I might add that I only know of one resident who has a computer and that is an old IBM type, which she uses to maintain links with her family in Austria, by email.

Elderly abuse is horrific and one which has come to the forefront in recent years. I’m told that in Emmerdale, on the TV, that Ashley, the vicar, is abusing his father and that the story will run for the next while. In the course of my business I have many an occasion to deal with elderly people. They are great, amusing, sad, happy, in fact you witness a wide range of emotions. The one thing you do is to try to put their mind at rest. Deal with their problems and anxieties in a caring manner. They are vulnerable and society does not always deal them a fair hand. You can imagine my frustration and indeed anger while listening to Phil Hogan and his lackies threatening people to pay up or they will be charged extra and indeed will be prosecuted. Someone mentioned Jail. Well it was in the context that people would not be sent to Jail. Well, what did the elderly hear? They heard Court and add one and one together to get two, which means they’ll be sent to jail. I do not know Phil Hogan personally, but wonder whether in his previous incarnation as a school teacher and auctioneer that he developed an arrogance about him which is now coming to the fore. Let’s look up what Fine Gael have to say about him… ”He is the tallest person in the Dáil at 6 feet 5 inches. He rarely misses a G.A.A. match where Kilkenny are playing. He is good card player which is an essential requirement in politics.” Well, need I say more !

LegalEagleStar , Tuesday , 27th. March , 2012