Hello everyone. This has already been posted, but only by a link. When I read it, I thought it was worth posting in full.
So for all you people that keep saying, if you are entitled to benefit, and its legal to take it, go for it, no moral issues exist. Not sure I can fully agree.
Regarding the Fruitcakes, if living in Spain is beyond there own means, should Mr Fruitcake just pack in his employment in the UK when it suits him and claim a legal benefit to suport a lifestyle he could not otherwise afford. Or should he continue to work and support himself to a lifestye he can afford without the need to claim benefit, which he clearly could.
That really is the moral question here. Some people will say he is doing absolutly nothing wrong, it is legal and you are entitled to get every benefit available within the system. Go on the Fruitcakes, good luck, have many years of benefit claiming.
Others might say the Fruitcakes are parasites, a boil on the backside of humanity, complete legal scroungers and milking the system to its maximum.
At the end of the day its down to the Fruitcakes or should they do a name change to O'Shea?
Friday, Feb 10 2012
How can a £10m lotto winner STILL claim £6,000 a year in benefits?
When Michael and Jean O’Shea won £10.2million on the lottery, they promised: ‘We’ll never be any different, no matter how much money we have.’
More than six years later, the couple remain true to their word.
They still occupy the three-bedroom ex-council house they were living in when their numbers came up – and Mr O’Shea still claims around £6,000 a year in benefits.
Here's to us: Michael and Jean O'Shea celebrating winning £10.2million on Euro Millions, at Nottingham Race Course, in October 2005
Since winning the Euromillions jackpot in October 2005, Mr O’Shea has been paid up to £31,500 in handouts – a fraction of the interest generated by his win. The retired builder is doing nothing illegal because his £500-a-month disability living allowance is not means-tested.
But campaigners, MPs and neighbours attacked Mr O’Shea for continuing to take the cash.
In addition to the benefits, he and his wife are given a new car every three years under a mobility scheme for the disabled.
One neighbour said: ‘I’m not the only person around here who thinks that multi-millionaires still claiming benefits is wrong. It may not be illegal, but is it morally right that they get benefits when they don’t need them? They can afford a life of luxury and a fleet of cars – yet they are pinching every penny they can get from the taxpayer.’
Home sweet home: Mr and Mrs O'Shea bought their council house in Sneinton, Nottingham, for £5,000 in 1977. Houses in the area now sell for an average of £190,000
Mr O’Shea, 73, admitted claiming ‘around £500’ a month but insisted: ‘I worked for 40 years and I’m entitled to it. I’ve got osteoarthritis in my legs, and rheumatoid arthritis in my hands. We only really use the car to go to the shops.’
Mr O’Shea, of Sneinton, Nottingham, said he and his wife, 72, give away ‘ten times what we receive’ to good causes. But Tory MP Patrick Mercer, who represents the nearby constituency of Newark, said he was ‘surprised’ by the O’Sheas’ decision to continue claiming the cash.
Mr Mercer added: ‘He does not need to be claiming this money, and the country can ill afford it when the economy is in the mess that it is thanks to the last government.’
Matthew Elliott, of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, added: ‘It’s barmy that taxpayers are funding benefits and motors for a multi-millionaire.’
Although they still live in the former council house they paid £5,000 for in 1977, the O’Sheas have holidayed in Australia, Canada and Alaska.
They also had a five-bedroom mansion built in Co Kerry, Ireland, where Mr O’Shea grew up.
However, if they moved to Ireland, the couple, who have three children, would lose out because the equivalent handout there is means-tested.
Disability Living Allowance is meant for those who have severe difficulty moving around and is worth up to £125 a week, which suggests Mr O’Shea is paid the maximum rate.