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bitterly cold winter day, I met protesters outside this very Dáíl. One protester said to the crowd with devastating sarcasm, "Is it not great the Government is giving us extra fuel allowance? It is giving me enough to buy firelighters for a fire that I cannot even afford … have told me the extra €10-a-week would not even come close to covering their real living costs. The message of that protest was simple and shameful: eat or heat. I find that utterly disgraceful. Delaying supports does not save money, it pushes people with disabilities into

disabled support grant has been cut by €400, that the living alone allowance lump sum of €200 is being cut, that the fuel allowance is being reduced for disabled people with a net loss of €160 and that the October double payment of €254 and the electricity credits … this issue on the agenda and put pressure on the Government. On 9 December, despite a storm, they were outside the Dáil to protest the Government’s cuts. They said then that the Government is forcing them into a choice between heating and eating. They warned that people