NEWLY ELECTED TD for Dublin West Patrick Nulty was last night expelled from the Labour parliamentary party after voting against the budget.
Mr Nulty, a TD for only six weeks, announced yesterday evening he could not support what he called an unjust budget that clearly breached Labour’s pre-election pledges. He appeared on the plinth of Leinster House at about 5.30pm to say he opposed cuts to the disability allowance and fuel allowance, health cuts, cuts to one-parent families and the increase in the standard rate of VAT.
He has become the third Labour TD out of 38, following Willie Penrose and Tommy Broughan, to have lost the party whip since Labour entered coalition nine months ago.
“It is profoundly unfair . . . The poor, the old and the sick have suffered enough. That has to stop, and I will be voting against measures which undermine their living conditions,” said Mr Nulty.
One of the principal reasons Mr Nulty voted against the budget were the cuts announced in allowances for younger people with disabilities.
Last night Minster for Finance Michael Noonan, speaking on RTÉ Prime Timeabout the cuts to the allowances for younger people with disabilities said: "I think it's worth looking again in the social welfare bill."
That issue was emerging as the politically most damaging of the budget, with backbenchers from both Coalition parties trenchantly opposing the measure. One TD described it as the only “hornets’ nest” issue to have emerged in a severe budget that featured €3.8 billion of adjustments.
A special meeting of Fine Gael TDs and Senators was convened to discuss the cuts in disability allowance, chaired by Mary Mitchell O’Connor. It was attended by over 40 members.
Arising from the discussion a delegation of four Fine Gaels TDs – Joe McHugh, Damien English, Simon Harris and Kieran O’Donnell arranged a meeting with Minister for Social Protection Joan Burton last night to seek a reversal of the more punitive elements of the cuts.
“We can understand labour activation measures,” said a Fine Gael TD who spoke on an off-the-record basis. “But taking €88 of disability allowance each week from people who will never work, like those with cerebral palsy, those with autism and those with severe Down syndrome is very unfair. They should never ever be included in this.”
Similarly, at a meeting of Ms Burton’s party last night, some 16 TDs spoke against the measure. A Labour TD who spoke on condition of anonymity said all of the parliamentary party were talking about it. “There was a lot of disquiet among Deputies and Senators that the measure was going to cause unnecessary pain.
“We need to be a fair Government and not target the vulnerable. We want to move beyond words and make it happen. We are confident that the Cabinet and the Minister will see fit to make it.”
The changes to disability allowance will mean 16- and 17-year-olds will no longer be entitled to the allowance, with those between 18 and 24 also facing steep cuts. The measure has been described by Fianna Fáil’s Seán Fleming as a “nasty thing to do”.
Mr Nulty was elected as a deputy for Dublin West in the byelection on October 27th. Last night, some of his younger colleagues said they felt disappointed and betrayed by Mr Nulty, who they said should have been well aware Labour TDs would have to stand over unpopular and unpalatable measures.
For his part, Mr Nulty denied he had deceived the electorate in the byelection. “I don’t think anybody was elected on the basis of reducing fuel allowance, or of cutting disability payment.”