INOU - Latest News - Full Text

Is it really falling?

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 13:11:00 GMT

Today the Central Statistics Office released the Live Register figures for February, 2010. The Seasonally Adjusted figure is down 2,300 to 432,400 while the unadjusted is up slightly to 436,956. What is striking about these figures when you look at them in detail is that the drop is in Jobseekers Benefit (JB). JB is the payment workers build up an entitlement to through their PRSI contributions and it lasts for either 9 months or a year depending on the levels of contribution made. If an unemployed person has had no joy in securing employment after either 9 months or a year he or she can apply for Jobseekers Allowance (JA). JA is a means tested payment and an unemployed person's family circumstances are taken into account if they either have a partner who is working or are under 25 and living at home.

Amongst the welfare rights queries that come into the INOU are those from an increasing number of men who cannot understand why after working for 10, 20, 30 years they are no longer entitled to an unemployment payment once their JB payment comes to an end. This is a scenario many women are familiar with and it can be argued that unemployment figures tend to undercount the scale of female unemployment. In Budget 2010 access to FAS training allowances was cut off to potential participants who do not have a welfare entitlement in their own right. This development will impact on both women returners and men who no longer receive a Jobseekers payment but who see themselves as unemployed and wish to retrain or up skill themselves and improve their future employment prospects.

Yesterday FAS and the ESRI released a report on occupational employment forecasting. The predictions in this report mirror concerns raised by the INOU, that employment growth will be in the upper end of the labour market. Though the educational profile of the unemployed has changed over the past year, the reality remains that the vast majority do not have the qualifications or skills to access future employment. Though the Government has increased access to higher education courses for unemployed people, the scale of these developments is too insignificant to ensure that those currently unemployed will be able to avail of the opportunities thrown up by the 250,000 job growth predicted by FAS and the ESRI.

A Jobs Strategy is urgently required that spells out how the job growth predicted by both the IDA and FAS and the ESRI will be linked into the education and training courses on offer to unemployed people. At a time of limited resources it is imperative that we ensure that best use is being made of them, otherwise there is a real danger that employment growth will co-exist with significant unemployment.

Job losses continue

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 12:40:00 GMT

On February 3rd the Central Statistics Office released the Live Register figures for January, 2010. On February 2nd the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment released the redundancy figures and the Department of Finance released the latest Exchequer returns. What is so striking from these three sets of figures is that the ones that ideally should be going up are going down, and the ones that should be going down, are going up.

Redundancies are up 1.7% on the same month last year but 63% on December 2009. There were 77,001 redundancies in 2009: the highest figure ever giving a monthly average of 6,417 or 1,481 per week. Over the period 2002 - 2007 the weekly average was 473. Though redundancy figures do not capture the full scale of job losses the contrast in these figures highlights the challenges facing Ireland.

The Live Register seasonally adjusted figure originally published for December 2009 has been revised upwards by 2,200 to 428,900. The figure for January 2010 is 434,700 giving a monthly increase of 5,800 and an annual one of 110,600. The Standardised Unemployment Rate is 12.7% and most commentators expect this to increase to 13.5%. The last time Ireland's unemployment rate was at this level was in the mid 1990s when there were 1.25m people in employment. According to the latest Quarterly National Household Survey for Q3 2009 there were 1.92m people in employment. Since then the Live Register has increased by 1.7% and the unemployment rate by 0.3%.

The INOU strongly believes that the best way to solve unemployment is through job creation obviously in the current climate that is far easier said than done. However the impact of job losses and the relentless push to cut wage levels is having a detrimental impact on the State's finance, as the overall tax take is down 17.7%.

In the meantime unemployed people are being encouraged to re-train and educate themselves but the INOU is very concerned as to what end. The Government lacks a coherent jobs strategy. Even if the 'smart economy' concept get off the ground as hoped it will not create sufficient employment. And the development of the knowledge based or smart economy demands considerably more investment than this State is currently putting into education. According to the Book of Estimates the State will spend 6.1% less on education in 2010 than it did in 2009. Yet there is increased demand as unemployed people and others strive to improve their future prospects.

The endless focus on the banking and public finance crisis is to the detriment of unemployed people who are paying the ultimate price for this recession.

INOU Protests outside Dáil Eireann

Tue, 19 Jan 2010 15:49:00 GMT

As TDs and Senators returned to Dáil Éireann and Seanad Éireann this afternoon, the Irish National Organisation of the Unemployed welcomed them back with a protest. In particular the organisation was protesting against the cuts made to social welfare payments in the recent budget and further cuts that were made to the wages of participants on Community Employment and Jobs Initiative.

"The INOU is very conscious that many unemployed people are struggling to make ends meet and keep a roof over their heads," said John Stewart, Co-ordinator, with the INOU. "We are calling on the Government to guarantee that at the very least no further cuts will be made to social welfare payments," he continued.

The INOU is also calling for the urgent development and implementation of a Jobs Strategy. The rationale for significantly cutting social welfare payments to young people was to encourage them to undertake additional education and training programmes. However, without a clear Jobs Strategy how can any of us be sure that unemployed people of any age are going on courses that will improve their chances of securing future employment.

"The INOU is very concerned that we could see a return to economic growth but still have significant numbers of people unemployed," noted John. "That we could have job growth in some sectors but lack people with the right qualifications to access them," he concluded. An integral part of the development of a Jobs Strategy is the role education and training will play in its realisation, and in particular how unemployed people will gain access to courses with good potential outcomes.

For the first time in twelve years long-term unemployment is over 3%, this figure will continue to climb if the Government does not start to treat unemployment with the same level of seriousness with which it has treated the financial crisis - both banking and public.

The INOU is calling on the Government to start to invest in a planned and systematic way to address the unemployment crisis.

Long-term Unemployment Rising

Wed, 16 Dec 2009 13:53:00 GMT

Today the CSO released the latest Quarterly National Household Survey. This Survey covers Quarter 3, the months July to September 2009. The fall in employment continues with a loss of 184,700 jobs over the past year. The loss of full-time jobs is even more extraordinary at 202,400 over the year. Jobs were lost across all sectors except 'associate professional and technical'.

Unemployment continues to rise and is now 12.7%. "What is particularly worrying about today's release," said Bríd O'Brien, Head of Policy with the INOU, "is the increase in long-term unemployment which is now 3.2% or 71,400 people". Long-term unemployment was only 1.7% or 38,100 people in Quarter 3 2008.

To-date the Government has been addressing the issue of unemployment in a piece meal fashion. Ireland desperately needs a coherent and inclusive Jobs Strategy if long-term unemployment is not to continue to climb and to become entrenched once again in Irish society.

Budget 2010 contains too little to address this growing problem. The INOU challenges the rationale behind cutting young people's social welfare payments: to "incentivise them" to go on education and training courses. There are insufficient quality education and training places available. "And with no vision for where the labour market is going," Bríd continued, "unemployed people are concerned that engagement in these courses will not guarantee them future employment".

For further information contact:

John Stewart, Co-ordinator at 01 856 0088
Bríd O'Brien, Head of Policy and Media at 01 856 0088; 086 608 9641

INOU urges the Oireachtas to reject the Social Welfare Bill

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 15:11:00 GMT

Today the National Executive Committee of the INOU met to discuss Budget 2010 and its implications for unemployed people. The NEC urges all TDs and Senators to reject the Social Welfare Bill that is currently being rammed through both Houses of the Oireachtas. It is undemocratic that so little time has been given to TD and Senators to debate this important piece of legislation that will give effect to the appalling cuts made to social welfare payments.

The INOU refutes the inflation arguments used by the Government just to justify the cuts they have made to Jobseekers and other social welfare payments. They have failed to acknowledge that changes they have made in the previous two Budgets to Rent Supplement and its impact on the cost of living for unemployed people and others - an increase of €15-20 per week. Budget 2010 will see further increases as the cost of medicines and heating one's home will rise. At the very least the fuel allowance should have been increased to offset the poverty impact of the new Carbon tax.

The Government has made much of the increase in the social welfare rate in Budget (October) 2009. However, they have failed to acknowledge the impact of the loss of the Christmas bonus on unemployed people and other welfare recipients expected income - a drop of 2% in 2009. With the changes announced yesterday unemployed people aged 25 and older will see a further drop in their income of 4.1% in 2010.

The Government is claiming that it wants to encourage young people to stay on in education and training however the additional 26,000 'training and support places' announced yesterday are insufficient given that there are over 423,000 people on the Live Register. It is also extraordinary that Budget 2010 contains proposed cut backs to supports available to unemployed people accessing education through VTOS and the Back to Education Allowance. A clear jobs strategy is urgently required that identifies where job growth will take place and how unemployed people can access those jobs.

For further information contact:
Bríd O'Brien, Head of Policy and Media at 01 856 0088; 086 608 9641

Budgeting for unemployment and poverty

Thu, 10 Dec 2009 13:34:00 GMT

The INOU are appalled at the cuts announced in yesterday's Budget to Jobseekers payments. The inflation arguments used by the Government just don't stand up as they fail to take into account the increases in the cost of living for social welfare recipients arising from the previous two Budgets. For example, any unemployed person living in rent supplement accommodation has seen their cost of living increase by €15-20 per week. Budget 2010 will see further increases as the cost of medicines and heating one's home will rise. The fuel allowance should have been increased yesterday to offset the poverty impact of the new Carbon tax.

Today the Minister for Social and Family Affairs made much of the increase in the social welfare rate in last October's Budget but what she failed to point out is that with the loss of the Christmas bonus, unemployed people and other welfare recipients have seen a drop in their expected income of 2% in 2009. With the changes announced yesterday unemployed people ages 25 and older will see a further drop in their income of 4.1% in 2010.

The changes made to people under 25 are even more dramatic. New claimants who are 20 and 21 years of age will only be entitled to a Jobseekers Allowance of €100 per week; while new claimants who are 22-24 year olds will only be entitled to a payment of €150 per week. "The INOU is very concerned that the clear message being sent to young people is to emigrate," said Bríd O'Brien, Head of Policy with the INOU. The Government is claiming that it wants to encourage young people to stay on in education and training however the additional 26,000 'training and support places' announced yesterday are insufficient given that there are over 423,000 people on the Live Register.

What is even more extraordinary is that there are cut backs in the education area which will make it harder for unemployed people to up-skill themselves adequately for the 'smart economy' the Government says it wants to create. And yet they are proposing cutting people's Jobseekers payment if they refuse an offer of a job or a training course. The INOU strongly believes that a key element of any activation policy should be choice. Many unemployed people have raised their concerns of been sent on courses that have no future and have little prospect of leading to a job.

The INOU finds it telling that the Social Welfare Bill is being rushed through the legislative process over a two day period. "Clearly they are determined that local pressure on backbench TDs will not undermine these decisions," continued Bríd.

Even though time is very limited we would urge all unemployed people and community organisations to contact their local TDs immediately to let them know that the proposed cuts to social welfare payments are not acceptable.

For further information contact:
Bríd O'Brien, Head of Policy and Media at 01 856 0088; 086 608 964

When are we going to start addressing unemployment?

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 13:09:00 GMT

With a week to go until Budget Day it is crucially important that the Government starts to prioritise unemployment. There are now 423,400 people on the Live Register - the seasonally adjusted figure for November. The Standardised Unemployment Rate is 12.5%: it was 8.2% this time last year and only 4.9% in November 2007. "It is astounding that so little has been done to date to maintain employment and identify potential job creation," said Bríd O'Brien, Head of Policy and Media with the INOU.

The latest redundancy figures were released yesterday: so far in 2009 73,024 people have been made redundant, 96% higher than this time last year. Three sectors continue to dominate these figures and they are other services; building and civil engineering; and other manufacturing.

The INOU is very conscious that the best way to address unemployment is through job creation and facilitating people to move from a welfare payment to work. The interaction of the social welfare and tax systems play an important role in this regard. However, the INOU completely disputes all calls to cut unemployment payments as the maintenance of an acceptable standard of living for all unemployed people is crucial. "It is equally important if people are to be encouraged to re-train and up-skill themselves that they are not worrying about making ends meet," continued Bríd.

When the vision for the labour market is one of increasing technology, innovation and skills levels it is crucial that every effort is made to create access points for unemployed people and others distant from the labour market.

Building a more integrated and client centred employment service that actively strives to match the right person with the right opportunity is vital if we are to build a truly inclusive labour market. To ensure the development of a 'smart' economy that does not exacerbate socio-economic exclusion demands the urgent development of 'smart' and flexible services.

For further information contact:
Bríd O'Brien, Head of Policy and Media at 01 856 0088; 086 608 9641

A copy of our full Pre-Budget Submission is available on our website: www.inou.ie

There is no room for complacency

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 13:22:00 GMT

Today's drop in the Live Register by 3,000 is a welcome development however it is important that we establish why it has dropped. It would be very welcome if the register was dropping because people had found work or were participating on education and training courses that would secure them a better job in the future. "However, if the register is dropping because people are emigrating or have exhausted their Jobseekers Benefit payment and do not have an entitlement to Jobseekers Allowance then it is not a positive development," noted Bríd O'Brien, Head of Policy and Media with the INOU.

It must be remembered that as a society we have never had to deal with the numbers of people looking for work and on the Live Register as there are at present.

Yesterday's redundancy figures released by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment paint a different story as the figure for October, at 6,561, was higher than the previous three months. Four sectors accounted for over 85% of this figure and they were: other services; other manufacturing; building and civil engineering; transport and communication. At this rate of increase the redundancy figures for 2009 will be twice that of 2008: which in turn was almost 60% higher than the previous high of 25,769 in 2003.

In our pre-budget submission we noted that as the vision for the labour market is one of increasing technology, innovation and skills levels it is crucial that every effort is made to create access points for unemployed people and others distant from the labour market.

This requires building a more integrated and client centred employment service that actively strives to match the right person with the right opportunity, this is vital if we are to build a truly inclusive labour market. It is also important that these services are as accessible as possible to support unemployed people and others into employment.

For further information contact: Bríd O'Brien, Head of Policy and Media at 01 856 0088; 086 608 9641

Budgeting to address unemployment

Thu, 08 Oct 2009 13:51:00 GMT

In our Pre-Budget Submission the INOU is calling on the Government to urgently review its priorities and to treat unemployment as the major crisis needing to be addressed. "The language of economics and its concerns have dominated the public debate to-date and there is an implicit presumption that society must fall into place behind the economy", noted Bríd O'Brien, Head of Policy and Media with the INOU.

Society and the economy are intertwined and it is not feasible or advisable to ignore social policy in the pursuit of economic goals alone. "Ireland must invest in its people," she continued, "it will not be possible to realise a 'smart economy' unless we have a 'smart' and inclusive society". To that end it is vitally important the Government take informed and integrated policy decisions to protect the most vulnerable. Otherwise there is a real danger that structural long-term unemployment will become embedded presenting significant challenges and costs at the personal; communal; and societal levels well into the future.

The INOU feels very strongly that impoverishing people who will face increasing challenges in securing employment in a rapidly changing labour market is not the way to address the current crisis. Therefore, the organisation is calling on the Government to "maintain the basic social welfare rate". At the INOU's Annual Delegate Conference, the delegates called for the average waiting times for payment of Jobseekers Benefit to be no more than 2 weeks and for Jobseekers Allowance to be no more than 4 weeks. Slippage in recent months highlights the need for more focused and immediate action.

Well designed labour market programmes integrated into a more pro-active and client centred employment and related services have an important role to play in addressing socio-economic exclusion. The INOU is calling on the Government to increase the number of places on Community Employment; and to greatly improve the links between education, training and employment programmes and wider labour market opportunities.

"Supporting unemployed people into employment and supporting those in vulnerable employment demands action on two fronts," noted Bríd, "Family Income Supplement should be simplified and further improved, and the social welfare must adapt to support people working reduced but irregular hours".

The INOU will be one of a number of community and voluntary organisations raising our concerns with Minister Mary Hanafin at the Department of Social and Family Affair's Annual Pre-Budget Forum tomorrow in St Andrew's Resource Centre.

For further information contact: Bríd O'Brien, Head of Policy and Media at 01 856 0088; 086 608 9641

Download a copy of our full Pre Budget Ssubmission by CLICKING HERE

Can we bank on the Government to act?

Thu, 01 Oct 2009 14:01:00 GMT

Urgent action is required to address the growing unemployment crisis. The Live Register now stands at 429,400 (seasonally adjusted) and the Standardised Unemployment Rate is 12.6%. The INOU is deeply concerned that the Government's response to-date to the unemployment crisis has been piecemeal and small in scale.

"The numbers on the Live Register are of a magnitude Ireland has never had to deal with before," noted Bríd O'Brien, Head of Policy and Media. An integrated response to the economic and social crisis facing the country is urgently required. The Government must start to treat the unemployment crisis as seriously as it has treated the banking one and invest in the long-term future of its own labour force.

In the organisation's most recent project, entitled 'Linking Education and Training to Employment', unemployed people called for "Greater integration of employment, education training and social welfare services." Such a development is seen as crucial if unemployed people and people facing redundancy are to have a realistic prospect of re-entering the workforce.

The Quarterly National Household Survey for Quarter 2 2009 showed long-term unemployment continuing to grow and now stands at 2.6%, a figure not seen since early 1999. As the National Economic and Social Council noted that in its March 2009 report, "Only integration and innovation in how Ireland's educational system, training and labour market policies, and welfare state respond will ensure that a new problem of long-term unemployment is not created."

Today the INOU marched with other community organisations and trade unions in protest against the current, and proposed, cuts to community projects across the country. The INOU is keenly aware that in many incidents these projects offered a life line to areas badly hit by long term unemployment in the past and in some cases they are the only link to the labour market.

For further information contact: Bríd O'Brien, Head of Policy and Media at 086 608 9641

Unemployment continues to rise

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 16:02:00 GMT

Today the Central Statistics Office (CSO) released the Quarterly National Household Survey (QNHS) for Quarter 2 2009, which covers the period March to June. The QNHS Q2 '09 recorded a drop in employment levels by 8.2% in comparison to Q2 2008. With just a little over 1.9m in employment, employment has dropped back to Q1 2005 levels. However at that stage unemployment was only 4.2% and it is now 12%. Long-term unemployment has started to rise and now stands at 2.6% - a figure not seen since early 1999. Over the last year, 174,300 jobs were lost against 23,800 created. Out of the six categories where jobs were created, three are funded through the public purse and so future employment growth is doubtful.

Looking at it from a gender perspective, of the three categories that account for 44% of male employment in Q2 2009, employment levels fell by 21.9% over the year. These three categories include construction; industry; and wholesale and retail trade. The decline in construction employment was particularly dramatic at 64%. Overall 86,000 construction jobs were lost which accounted for almost half of the total job losses.

The picture for women is different as two of the three categories that make up 49.7% of women's employment saw growth of 2.4% and these sectors are: education; and human health and social work activities. The proposed cuts in public expenditure will have a particular impact on women's employment rate. The third category, wholesale and retail trade, saw women's employment fall by 6.5%.

"It is clear from these statistics that unemployment must become the Government's top priority," said Bríd O'Brien, Head of Policy and Media with the INOU. "At a time of private sector retrenchment, the State must play an increasing role in our economic development otherwise it will be extremely difficult to address unemployment when it becomes increasingly long-term and embedded," she concluded.

For further information contact:
Bríd O'Brien, INOU Head of Policy and Media: (01) 856 0088 or 086 608 9641

Time to invest in people, time to invest in Jobs

Wed, 02 Sep 2009 13:45:00 GMT

Today the Central Statistics Office released the Live Register figures for the end of August 2009. The Standardised Unemployment Rate now stands at 12.4% or 428,800 people on the Seasonally Adjusted Register.

Whilst the figures indicate a welcome slow down in the rate of increase in the numbers signing onto the Live Register, the scale of the unemployment crisis is borne out by these figures. The INOU is again calling on the Government to treat the unemployment crisis as its number one priority and for urgent and extensive action to address this issue before long-term unemployment becomes embedded once again.

The scale of the on-going redundancy crisis is also reflected in the numbers of redundancies notified to the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment for the month of August. 5,914 redundancies were notified in the month, taking the numbers for the year to 54,887, an increase of 134.5% on last year's figures. 2008 was the highest year on record with 40,607 redundancies. So far, "2009 has been a disastrous year for job losses and this looks set to continue for the rest of the year unless urgent action is taken to keep people in their jobs" said John Stewart, INOU Co-ordinator.

In this respect the INOU is concerned that, recent figures would suggest that the take up of the Employment Subsidy Scheme managed by Enterprise Ireland, has not been as anticipated with some employers stating that the application process is too complicated. The Employment Subsidy Scheme (Temporary) provides a subsidy of €9,100 per employee over fifteen months to qualifying exporting enterprises in the manufacturing and/or internationally traded services sectors. "The INOU welcomed the introduction of the subsidy scheme however, if companies in the qualifying sectors are not applying for whatever reason, then consideration should be given to extending the scheme to other sectors where jobs are being lost", John concluded.

For further information contact:
John Stewart, INOU Co-ordinator (01) 856 0088

Unemployment continues to rise

Fri, 07 Aug 2009 12:09:00 GMT

Today the Central Statistics Office released the Live Register figures for the end of July 2009. The Standardised Unemployment Rate now stands at 12.2%. The last time the SUR was 12.2% was April 1995 but at that stage there were only 277,700 people on the Live Register. At the end of July 2009 there were 423,400 people on the Seasonally Adjusted Register. The INOU is calling on the Government to treat the unemployment crisis as its no. 1 priority and calls for urgent and extensive action to address this issue before long-term unemployment becomes embedded once again.

Yesterday, the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Mary Coughlan, T.D., announced a €250 million scheme to protect up to 27,400 vulnerable jobs in the productive sector of the economy. The Employment Subsidy Scheme (Temporary) will provide a subsidy of €9,100 per employee over fifteen months to qualifying exporting enterprises in the manufacturing and/or internationally traded services sectors. "Though this development is welcome, given the scale of the unemployment crisis facing the country considerably more needs to be done," noted Bríd.

On Wednesday the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment issued the redundancy figures for the end of July. There were 49,009 redundancies by this time: an increase of 142% on the same period last year and 9,009 higher than for the whole of 2008. Three sectors continue to dominate these statistics and they are: other services; building and civil engineering; and other manufacturing. "The INOU is concerned that the Tánaiste's announcement yesterday will have little impact on these figures," continued Bríd.

For further information contact:

Bríd O'Brien, INOU Head of Policy and Media: (01) 856 0088 or 086 608 9641

The poor can't pay

Tue, 04 Aug 2009 10:56:00 GMT

The INOU is one of a range of Community and Voluntary Sector organisations and Trade Unions that have come together to campaign against the proposed cuts to basic social welfare payments and the national minimum wage. The campaign is called 'The Poor Can't Pay'.

The central message of 'The Poor Can't Pay' campaign is that people earning the national minimum wage or living on social welfare did not cause Ireland's economic crisis and therefore should not be forced to pay for the cost of the recession. This message is very much in keeping with a motion past at the INOU's Annual Delegate Conference in May which called "on the Government to ensure that, at the very minimum the value of all social welfare rates are maintained at the March 2009 rates. It is important that no further reductions or stealth cutbacks are made and we call on the Government to rescind the rent supplement changes, restore the Christmas Bonus..."

The campaign was launched as a joint initiative by the following community and voluntary sector organisations and trade unions: Age Action, Barnardos, CORI, EAPN, Focus Ireland, INOU, Mandate, National Women's Council of Ireland, SIPTU and SVP.

We are now contacting other community and voluntary sector organisations and trade unions to sign up and become members of the campaign. As strength is in numbers we hope you will join us in this campaign and urge you to sign up as soon as possible on www.thepoorcantpay.ie

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Seminar Report.'Linking Education and Training to Employment'

In May of this year the INOU published the 'Linking Education and Training to Employment' seminar report and today we publish the recommendations arising from the overall project which explored unemployed people's experience of education and training programmes and what recommendations they and others wish to progress with policy makers and practitioners. Some of the key recommendations arising from this project include:

Provide a broad range of quality training and education options.
People's participation on training and education courses must be voluntary.
Greater emphasis should be placed on assisting unemployed people in identifying pathways to progression.
Greater integration of employment, education, training and social welfare services.
Ensure that existing employment related services meet the needs of unemployed people.
That there is a greater emphasis on the employers' role in education and training.
To view all of the recommendations click here or on the image of the report above.

The Higher Education Authority has recently released details of the 2500 part time undergraduate and postgraduate places being made available for unemployed people. Please follow this link for more information http://www.hea.ie/en/node/1285

Snip, Snip, Wallop!

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 10:10:00 GMT

Amongst the many recommendations 'An Bord Snip Nua' makes to Government are: a 5% cut in Social Welfare rates; further reductions in Rent Supplement; further gradation by age to Jobseekers Allowance; and an end to 'double payments'.

"What is so striking about the recommendations," noted John Stewart, Co-ordinator with the INOU, "is how much the less well off in Irish society are being asked to pay for the failings of the Celtic Tiger."

Many welfare recipients have seen their cost of living rise over the past year, not fall as so many economic commentators keep asserting. Both in the October and the April Budgets changes were made to Rent Supplement. "As a result of these changes most welfare recipients in receipt of this payment have seen their rental costs increase between €15 and €20 per week," said Bríd O'Brien, Head of Policy and Media with the INOU. "It is vitally important that the Government maintain existing social welfare rates otherwise people will find it increasingly difficult to make ends meet," she concluded.

In April's Budget Jobseekers Allowance levels were cut for 18 and 19 years olds from €204.30 pw to €100 pw. In An Bord Snip Nua's report they recommend that 20 to 24 year olds get a reduced rate of €150 pw. "It strikes us as extraordinary that seven years after you are old enough to vote, you will only then be seen as old enough to get a full 'adult' welfare payment," said John.

Given the tightening labour market and the difficulties many marginalised groups experienced in accessing employment during the Celtic Tiger years, the INOU has called for the maintenance of the focus of Community Employment (CE) on disadvantage. The call in this report to abolish what they call 'double payments', will have a negative impact on the participation rates of lone parents and disabled people on CE. The current arrangement, that allows lone parents and disabled people to maintain a portion of their welfare payment, supports their involvement by covering additional participation costs like childcare and transport.

Given how interlinked employment status and educational attainment are, the INOU is astonished at the range of calls in this report to further cut and so undermine the educational system. These calls are even more extraordinary given the Government's state aim to develop a 'Smart economy'. "Without the proper investment at all levels of the education and training systems it will not be possible to develop such an economy and even less likely for unemployed people and others to secure work in it," finished Bríd.

For further information contact:
John Stewart, INOU Co-ordinator: (01) 856 0088 or 086 160 2222
Bríd O'Brien, INOU Head of Policy and Media: (01) 856 0088 or 086 608 9641