INOU ANNUAL DELEGATE CONFERENCE 2008

27 May 2008

Wednesday, 28th May 2008 The Heritage Hotel, Portlaoise, Co Laois

Rotimi Adebari, Mayor of Portlaoise and Vice-Chair of the INOU opened the organisation's Annual Delegate Conference for 2008 in the Heritage Hotel, Portlaoise.

Since last year's ADC held in Dublin on 20th June, the number of people on the Live Register has risen by 23%; recent monthly increases in the Live Register and in redundancy figures have seen some of the biggest increases ever. Increases in the Live Register have varied across the country and in Portlaoise itself the Live Register for April 2008 is 70% higher than the same month last year and up 56% on July 2007.

"Last summer the Standardised Unemployment rate stood at 4.5%," noted Bríd O'Brien, Senior Policy Officer, "but it now stands at 5.5%." "Even with more recent optimistic economic forecasts unemployment is predicted to rise and we believe it will hit 6% before the end of the year," Bríd concluded.

Irish employment policy is focused on the development of the 'knowledge based economy' which means the attraction into Ireland and creation at home of highly skilled jobs. Given this policy scenario and the increase in the Live Register, to ensure that unemployed people and others distant from the labour market get a fair look in, delegates at this year's conference will be calling on the Government to:
Respond more rapidly to the education, training and employment needs of unemployed people and others who have lost their jobs and been made redundant;
Respond to the needs of people who found employment through self-employment, in particular in the construction industry, through reduction in the qualifying period for access to training and supports open to unemployed people;
Provide adequate resources and leadership to realise integrated service delivery and so address unemployed people and other's social and economic exclusion.