Fine Gael Senator Jerry Buttimer, Seanad Spokesman on Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, today (Wednesday) described the decision by Minister John Gormley to splash out nearly €700,000 on a bat study at a time when the housing aid grant for the elderly and disabled is seriously under-funded, as deluded.
“Minister Gormley’s choice to spend nearly 700k on a study of bats at a time when the elderly and the disabled cannot get grants from their local authorities for house improvements due to a serious lack of cash shows that the Minister is no defender of the vulnerable.
“While it is important to protect the bat, managing the cost of this ‘study’ is excessive, in light of Ireland’s current economic difficulties. Yet Minister Gormley wishes to play the part of The Joker in maintaining that current cuts have no effect on front line local authority services.”