Let them eat cheese: anger as Ireland plans handouts of cheddar to the poor

The country may be a few heartbeats away from intervention by the International Monetary Fund but today the Irish government had a novel message for the public: let them eat cheese.

Brendan Smith, the agriculture minister, announced a European Union-funded scheme today that will enable the country to tuck into the EU's cheese mountain. 53 tonnes of fresh cheddar will be distributed from 15 November with collection centres in towns and cities around the country.

The minister said the scheme was "an important means of contributing towards the well-being of the most deprived citizens in the community".

"I am very conscious that many people find themselves in difficult circumstances at present and I want to commend the work of the many charitable organisations who are working on the front line to bring what comfort and relief they can," said Smith.

The initiative was immediately attacked by the opposition Fine Gael party, who called it an insult to the country, which is suffering the worst financial crisis in its history.

Brian Lenihan, the finance minister, announced on Thursday that his budget next month would cut £5.2bn from public spending, twice the amount first suggested and coming on top of swingeing cuts already made in last year's budget.

Fine Gael's agriculture spokesman, Andrew Doyle, said: "People on the breadline would rather the government's attention was on solving the economic crisis they caused and providing jobs rather than on this ridiculous announcement.

"This shows just how out of touch Fianna Fáil and the Greens truly are. Maybe looking down from their ministerial Mercs, [taoiseach or prime minister] Brian Cowen, Brendan Smith et al think that all the Irish people want or need is cheese. The truth is sadly different.

"It goes to show that they think that providing free cheese will soft soap the electorate and make us all forget the mess Fianna Fáil made of the country and the hardship Brian Lenihan will inflict on everyone. It won't."

In the past butter has been given out to the needy, but this year it was felt cheese was easier to distribute. The cheese has been manufactured in Ireland and will be bought by the government from the Irish Dairy Board and made available through charities.

The initiative was welcomed by the Society of St Vincent de Paul, a charity that looks after the poor in Ireland. It said it has seen the numbers of people seeking assistance soar. "We have people on social welfare, single mothers, the elderly, lone parents. Half the calls we take are about food and energy," said a spokesman.

But the announcement tested the patience of the wider public, who have already been warned of deep cuts to pensions, pay and social welfare in the forthcoming budget.

One caller to RTÉ's Joe Duffy phone-in radio show said: "The fact that Marie Antoinette said 'let them eat cake' was the beginning of the revolution – is that what they want?"

Another caller said: "Have they taken leave of their senses? It's not cheese that people who have lost their jobs that people are worried about, it's about how they're going to tell their children or grandchildren that Santa has very little money.

"What are they going to tell their children and grandchildren: that Santa has cheese instead?"