We look at what was making the headlines this week in 1983
Housing Benefit trap warning
THE new Housing Benefits Scheme which was introduced on Monday of this week, has been criticised by Shelter, Gingerbread and the Falls Community Council.
Objections have been raised to the scheme on the following grounds:
It constitutes another form of debt collection;
It further erodes the right of people to manage their own income;
It is virtually unintelligible to anyone, except civil servants;
Some people on low incomes will be worse off under the new scheme;
Since its introduction in England last year, the scheme has proved unworkable.
The Falls Community Council has issued the following guidelines to people affected by the new regulations:
1. Housing Executive Tenants on Supplementary Benefit.
Up until Monday people getting Supplementary Benefit only e.g. (families with school children only) and were getting their rent included in their supplementary benefit, will now have their rent sent directly to the Housing Executive, therefore these people won't have to pay their rent every week at the Post Office. The Housing Executive should have sent a letter explaining this.
2. H.E. Tenants getting Supplementary Benefit with adults living at home.
People who are getting Supplementary Benefit (S.B.) only, but have grown up children claiming benefit or working, will get part of their rent paid direct to the Housing Executive. The rest of their rent will be paid by them at the P.O. The Housing Executive should have sent a letter explaining how much these people have to pay weekly.
3. People who were getting supplementary benefit and the amount was more than their rent will still get something from supplementary benefit, e.g. if someone was getting £15 from supplementary benefit and their weekly rent was £10, then they will still get £5 from supplementary benefit. People whose supplementary benefit was less than their rent will no longer get money from supplementary benefit every week, because it will go directly to the Housing Executive, these people will still have to pay part of their rent at the Post Office every week. The Housing Executive should have sent a letter telling them how much they will have to pay every week. These people will still be entitled to free milk, prescriptions, glasses, dental treatment, school meals, and single payments.
4. H.E. Tenants on Rent/ Rates Rebate. People claiming Rent/Rates rebate will also claim Housing Benefit. Their claim will be the same as Rent/Rates Rebate. The Housing Executive should let them know what they wil have to pay weekly.
5. Private Tenants on Supplementary Benefit. People on supplementary benefit who pay rent to private landlords will have their rent taken out of their weekly supplementary benefit and instead, they will be paid by cheque from the H.E. They will have to pay the landlord and make up the difference if any. These people are still entitled to free milk and dental treatment.
Three members of St Galls team Gerry Moore, Sean McGourty and Joe Diamond discuss tactics for Sunday’s Ulster Club Final replay with school principal Bro Dominic, who is also the club president
Editorial
LAST weekend's killings at Darkley in South Armagh will be added to the long litany of dreadful acts carried out over the past 14 years. They will line up alongside McGurk's Bar, the Kingsmills Massacre, The Shankill Butcher killings and Bloody Sunday as nefarious deeds carried out by people who have thrown to the one side even the doubtful morality of engaging only legitimate combatants in a warlike situation.
The perpetrators of the Darkely killings have put themselves in the same category as the British Blanket Bombers of Dresden during the Second World War, the American Nuclear Bombers of Hiroshima and the Russian massacre of unarmed Polish officers in the Katyn Wood. They have committed the supreme folly of apeing the imperialist powers in their methods of warfare and for that reason alone they should be disowned by all right thinking people. Having said that much we think, nevertheless, that some caution is needed in analysing the present situation. While not doubting that some group professing Catholic sympathies could have been responsible for this awful action, because the situation existing in our country today lends itself to all sorts of "madmen" having the opportunity to work out their fantasies and vent their spleen on innocent people, we would ask people to reflect on the possibility that things might not be just what they seem to be. It is a fact that the British have been concentrating over the past number of years on secret undercover counterinsurgency operations of the "Kitson" type which relied heavily on the infiltration of paramilitary groups and which resulted in the spate of "supergrass" trials held recently. We even had the spectacle in court this week of three paid informers operating in the same paramilitary group and spying on one another at the same time!
In a situation like this it is quite feasible that infiltration would be possible in any band of guerillas operating in the border areas at the present time. Is it possible that such an infiltrated group carried out the Darkley killings?
There are a number of interesting things about the killings that bear investigation. Firstly the name used by the killers was reminiscent of the names used by various loyalist groups to claim killings in the early 70s when they were heavily infiltrated by British Intelligence. In fact the instigator of the "Romper" Room murders was an ex-British soldier called Baker who was "spirited" away to England as soon as he was convicted on several murder charges. The I.N.LA. have been accused of the murders but can anyone believe that this extreme Republican and Socialist group would use the word "Catholic" to cover any of its actions?
