No more SW communion/confirmation payments

paddy147

I see the DSW are stopping Communion/Confirmation payments.

Going to be lots of unhappy parents and kids out there so.

Its on the RTE Lunchtime News right now.

It will hit alot of hard pressed families.

bleg

Good.

snubbleste

Eh this is news last December when it was announced, widely publicised at the time.

paddy147

snubbleste wrote: »

Eh this is news last December when it was announced, widely publicised at the time.

Well its on RTE News now.

Simon Coveny when interviewed about it,seemed to be completely caught off guard on the matter.

admiralofthefleet

about time it was stopped, should never have been paid in the first place

snubbleste

paddy147 wrote: »

Well its on RTE News now.

Simon Coveny when interviewed about it,seemed to be completely caught off guard on the matter.

Are RTÉ four months behind

SEPT 23 1989

This is crazy,where will i get the money for her dress,tan and bouncy castle now?

krudler

Parents having to stump up for their own kids ridiculous days, poor things.

gavindublin

Was this a set figure to a family or how did they see who was entitled to receive it

admiralofthefleet

SEPT 23 1989 wrote: »

This is crazy,where will i get the money for her dress,tan and bouncy castle now?

and the hummer/helicopter

McLoughlin

Now make it compulsory to make it in school uniforms.

paddy147

snubbleste wrote: »

Are RTÉ four months behind

Im only saying what was on the news today.

SW say they will still make emergencey payments to people,if they can prove its an emergencey and need thre money.....but the payments cant be used for any religious purposes/reasons.

Watch the news.;)

Death and Taxes

paddy147 wrote: »

Im only saying what was on the news today.

SW say they will still make emergencey payments to people,if they can prove its an emergencey and need thre money.....but the payments cant be used for any religious purposes/reasons.

Watch the news.;)

About time, the state should not be subsidizing religion.

touts

We don't do it for Muslims, Jews, Buddists, Stonemasons, etc or any other religion.

anncoates

/sneery comment about catholicism to blizzard of thanks

/sneery comment about "scumbags" to blizzard of thanks

/mention of "jacinta" and/or "anto" to blizzard of thanks

summerskin

i bet those catholic scumbags Anto and Jacinta are appalled!

Bannasidhe

Considering that the purpose of Supplementary Grants has always been

"to help meet essential, once-off and unforeseen expenditure which a person could not reasonably be expected to meet out of their weekly income" they should never have been making payments for communions dresses in the first place. It can hardly have been an 'unforeseen expenditure' as when little Jasmina was baptised the probability of her needed a communion dress in about 7 years should have been 'foreseen'. How much warning do people need???

Badly Drunk Boy

McLoughlin wrote: »

Now make it compulsory to make it in school uniforms.

I made my confirmation in 1985 and we all wore our uniforms. I think it's an ideal solution.

michael999999

Looks like britney and shakira will be dissapointed!

ringadingding

It's grand, I'm sure the church will give a few quid, generous souls that they are

john_cappa

WileyCoyote wrote: »

About time, the state should not be subsidizing religion.

x 2

Separation of the state from religion is slowly but surely happening and this is another step.

john_cappa

Badly Drunk Boy wrote: »

I made my confirmation in 1985 and we all wore our uniforms. I think it's an ideal solution.

Or better still take it out of the schools altogether?? It shouldnt be anything to do with the school in the first place.

Oh, boo hoo

Stay in for a night or two, and you'll have recouped the grant

paddy147

Well my thinking on the matter is this.

3 letters spring to mind here.........

I

M

F






Think about it.

kylith

McLoughlin wrote: »

Now make it compulsory to make it in school uniforms.

Badly Drunk Boy wrote: »

I made my confirmation in 1985 and we all wore our uniforms. I think it's an ideal solution.

I disagree because I think that schools shouldn't have anything to do with sacraments. Let them make it in identical white robes which can be bought/rented/borrowed from the parish.

conorhal

Badly Drunk Boy wrote: »

I made my confirmation in 1985 and we all wore our uniforms. I think it's an ideal solution.

I have an uncle that's an Augustinian brother, he was telling me about the young priest in his local parish who, because it was a generally deprived working class area, had instituted a new rule that those children making their communion would do so in their school uniform and wearing a simple kind of white smock over it. He did this in defference to the ceremony and to ensure that families that could ill afford it weren't forced to keep up with the jones's. The cost of communion clothes would therfore come to 10 euro.
The priest was literally bombarded by parents queuing to complain about how upset their little girl would be not to get to wear her 'princess dress'. Fair balls to the man, he stuck to his guns, but he was just ignored, the children came to the church decked out like an episode my big fat gypsy wedding under the smocks and as soon at the ceremony was over there was an abandoned pile of smocks dumped at the back of the church. Aparently he was pretty sad about the whole affair.
what message are parents sending to their children with this nonsense, not a spiritual one I assure you.
Looking back at communion photo's of my brother and myself taken the early 80's is hillarious, we're both wearing the same horrible brown suit, the same one my cousin also wore before us.
It's not that my parents were poor or anything, but during the 80's even the middle classes watched the pounds and the pennies and had these odd idea about 'living within their means' and not pissing money up a wall on wasteful items like clothes that would be worn only once by kids.
The idea of heading down to the County Welfare Offiver for a loan to do this or applying for a grant was a concept that they would have thought laughably alien.

mikom

Bang goes my chances of a Jedi cloak grant for Mikom jr's communion.

VinLieger

Fantastic news, make school uniforms compulsory for these events and parents can fund the stupid parties themselves or band together to pay for one big one, enough subsidising of religious ceremonies

paddy147

Could it be means tested perhaps???

People that realy do need the extra money due to the recession and possible loss of job,can be means tested for the payment.

Surely stoppng some of the TDs crazy high perks/allowences would save more money than stoping this small once off payment all together??

VinLieger

paddy147 wrote: »

Could it be means tested perhaps???

People that realy do need the extra money due to the recession and possible loss of job,can be means tested for the payment.

Surely stoppng some of the TD crazy high perks/allowences would save more money than stoping this small once off payment all together??

Means test subsidising a religous ceremony? NO! maybe transfer it over to some other payment but we need to remove every vestige of the churches influence on this country

Remmy

McLoughlin wrote: »

Now make it compulsory to make it in school uniforms.

With the opitional addition of sequins

monflat

How much was the payment anyway.?

paddy147

VinLieger wrote: »

Means test subsidising a religous ceremony? NO! maybe transfer it over to some other payment but we need to remove every vestige of the churches influence on this country

We also need to cut TDs crazy high allowences too,,,but I dont see that happening......in fact they are actually getting more now than ever before.;):rolleyes:

Lets just keep on hitting the innocent kids and families in severe financial hardship.

aN.Droid

paddy147 wrote: »

Could it be means tested perhaps???

People that realy do need the extra money due to the recession and possible loss of job,can be means tested for the payment.

Surely stoppng some of the TDs crazy high perks/allowences would save more money than stoping this small once off payment all together??

it is an unnecessary payment with religious elements.

It doesn't cost anything to go in the school uniform. No need for the grant.

paddy147

monflat wrote: »

How much was the payment anyway.?

Something like 110-120 euro I think.

VinLieger

paddy147 wrote: »

Something like 110-120 euro I think.

Was reduced to that last year, was 240 in 2011 and cost 3.4 million

Lollipops23

Fine by me tbh, was inappropriate in the first place.

It's not an offence to give the communion a miss, and it's also not an offence to do it on the cheap if you're strapped for cash.

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

VinLieger wrote: »

Means test subsidising a religous ceremony? NO! maybe transfer it over to some other payment but we need to remove every vestige of the churches influence on this country

In fairness, Communions and Confirmations have been so diluted at this stage there's very little religious significance to most families participating in it anyway.

hyperborean

Good,

VinLieger

Ikky Poo2 wrote: »

In fairness, Communions and Confirmations have been so diluted at this stage there's very little religious significance to most families participating in it anyway.

True but that just adds to the ridiculousness of it

Nodin

kylith wrote: »

I disagree because I think that schools shouldn't have anything to do with sacraments. Let them make it in identical white robes which can be bought/rented/borrowed from the parish.

...or got in 2nd hand in bulk from some parts of the US.

mikom

Just so as we are clear.......... the helicopter grant still stands, right?

paddy147

Lollipops23 wrote: »

Fine by me tbh, was inappropriate in the first place.

It's not an offence to give the communion a miss, and it's also not an offence to do it on the cheap if you're strapped for cash.

Thats fair enough


BUT



What happens to a person/family who has no money left at the end of each week to do it on the cheap??

And there is alot of people out there in that very situation at the moment,because of recession and harsh austerity


All I am doing is making the point on each side of this,thats all.:)

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

VinLieger wrote: »

True but that just adds to the ridiculousness of it

Oh, absolutely. But I'm more against the idea of the SW givign payments becuse this is a vain, frivilous and almost abusive to the kids than because it's a religious ceremeny. That said, I'd still be against it for both reasons.

wexie

paddy147 wrote: »

Could it be means tested perhaps???

People that realy do need the extra money due to the recession and possible loss of job,can be means tested for the payment.

Surely stoppng some of the TDs crazy high perks/allowences would save more money than stoping this small once off payment all together??

While I agree with you on the TD allowances I would very much argue against any kind of communion / nonsense allowance, means tested or not.

If you can't afford your religion maybe it's time to rethink your priorities. Next thing we know some Muslim takes out a case under the equality act as he can't afford the pilgrimage to Mecca. Should that be covered under SW?

The state has no business subsidising anything like this and quite frankly it woulnd't harm parents to teach their kids exactly why the fancy dress, orange hues and stretch limo really aren't that appropriate or important for a communion, confirmation or Bar Mitswah etc. etc.

paddy147

wexie wrote: »

While I agree with you on the TD allowances I would very much argue against any kind of communion / nonsense allowance, means tested or not.

If you can't afford your religion maybe it's time to rethink your priorities. Next thing we know some Muslim takes out a case under the equality act as he can't afford the pilgrimage to Mecca. Should that be covered under SW?

The state has no business subsidising anything like this and quite frankly it woulnd't harm parents to teach their kids exactly why the fancy dress, orange hues and stretch limo really aren't that appropriate or important for a communion, confirmation or Bar Mitswah etc. etc.

Well you could say that for alot of things.


German Bondholders would be 1 thing...but they still get their 3.1 billion.:eek:


Constantly breaking salary pay caps to appoint allready overpaid people to even higher paid jobs.

wexie

paddy147 wrote: »

Well you could say that for alot of things.


German Bondholders would be 1 thing...but they still get their 3.1 billion.:eek:

No argument from me on that one. I'd much rather pay for some dodgy fake tan than the unsecured bondholders, sadly though I don't think it's up for debate.

westies4ever

paddy147 wrote: »

Well you could say that for alot of things.


German Bondholders would be 1 thing...but they still get their 3.1 billion.:eek:


Constantly breaking salary pay caps to appoint allready overpaid people to even higher paid jobs.

completely seperate issues and nothing to do with secularism.

Lollipops23

paddy147 wrote: »

Thats fair enough


BUT



What happens to a person/family who has no money left at the end of each week to do it on the cheap??

And there is alot of people out there in that very situation at the moment,because of recession and harsh austerity


All I am doing is making the point on each side of this,thats all.:)

Why is that the SW office's problem? Money for a communion suit/dress is the definition of a frivolous expense. Are they starving? Do they heat/electricity/schoolbooks? These are necessities and I wouldn't ever want someone to go without them. Spending several hundred quid on a big white dress? They can do without that.

Paramite Pie

McLoughlin wrote: »

Now make it compulsory to make it in school uniforms.

VinLieger wrote: »

Fantastic news, make school uniforms compulsory for these events and parents can fund the stupid parties themselves or band together to pay for one big one, enough subsidising of religious ceremonies

I assume both of you know that it's not up to the Government to decide what kids wear for a private religious ceremony.

Also parents should have the cop on and stick to their budget no matter how much their little princess wants a a fancy label.:rolleyes:

VinLieger

Paramite Pie wrote: »

I assume both of you know that it's not up to the Government to decide what kids wear for a private religious ceremony.

Also parents should have the cop on and stick to their budget no matter how much their little princess wants a a fancy label.:rolleyes:

Yes i think the government is responsible entirely for what children are awllowed wear...... obviously meant schools and churches should impose this rule