In Reply to: re: christmas bonus, not such a bad decision? posted by Well put on April 08, 2009 at 16:36:21:

I pay my taxes, income levies and PRSI too, but I believe it is desperately unfair to take the Christmas Bonus away from pensioners in particular.

When I first started working I paid tax at the then lower rate of 35% which is light years removed from the 20% rate we've enjoyed up until to recently.

I can't remember what the higher rate was back then but my parents tell me it kicked in at relatively - to today - low levels of income and was crippling. This was in addition to paying other charges such as domestic rates and struggling to pay third level fees to give their children a good start in life.

Our current pensioners have paid through the nose for much of their working lives and deserve better than what is a mean spirited cut taking away a little bit of comfort* from pensioners while ultimately achieving relatively little savings.

* I'm sure for many pensioners it's an essential part of their budget, not for spending on luxuries!