Monaghan Independent Councillor, Paudge Connolly, has accused the Government of 'kite-flying' on the issue of taxation in the next Budget. Speaking on this morning's Joe Finnegan Show, Cllr Connolly said it was done to gauge reaction and was without meaningful motive.
He says there are serious issues in society for people and while a tax break would be welcomed, the cost of living crisis is just adding to stresses that are already there. Cllr Connolly also highlighted how the demands of retained firefighters across Cavan and Monaghan, is one that must be addressed by the Government.
He added firefighters are part-time workers whom everyone in society is dependent on. "There are a few things there that must be addressed; their work-life balance must be addressed. They have to respond and the Monaghan station in particular, wants to respond to an incident within five minutes, and be ready to hit the road within five minutes.
"All of that impacts on the lives of firefighters; they can't just go to a park for a walk and half an hour into that walk, a call comes to respond to an emergency. They can't just head off to the swimming pool or take the kids to a football match like the rest of us can - because they are on-call," said Cllr Connolly.
