The National Reform Programme is part of the European Semester, which is a cycle of economic, fiscal, labour and social policy coordination within the European Union. For more than a decade, with the exception of 2021, EU member states have submitted an annual National Reform Programme (NRP) to the European Commission. The NRP provides an overview of reforms and policy actions underway including responses to the Country Specific Recommendations given as part of the preceding year's Semester. In 2021, member states produced National Recovery and Resilient Plans in response to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and other challenges including decarbonisation and increasing digitalisation.
In Ireland preparation of the National Reform Programme is coordinated by the Department of An Taoiseach. Over the years NGOs have sought a more active consultation process, but to little avail. This article summarises the INOU’s submission made in mid-February which explored an equitable economic recovery; inclusive employment and activation services; income adequacy;decent work; and the role of community based organisations.
The 2021 Economic Recovery Plan noted that “The government’s labour market approach is about providing opportunities to reskill and upskill, minimising long-term unemployment, and supporting individuals to secure sustainable and quality employment.” It will be absolutely critical that the employment created is indeed of good quality and sustainable in every sense of the word.
The past number of years have highlighted the digital divide in Irish society, an issue raised in the second Country Specific Recommendation to Ireland in 2020, when the Commission called on Ireland to “Address the risk of digital divide, including in the education sector.” In the 2021 National Recovery and Resilience Plan, under the second priority seeking to accelerate and expand digital reforms and transformation, there was a commitment to address the digital divide and enhance digital skills through the Adult Literacy, Numeracy and Digital Literacy Strategy and a new Digital Strategy for Schools.
In July 2021, the Government published Pathways to Work describing “the goal of Pathways to Work 2021-2025 is to ensure that as many of these opportunities as possible are filled by people who are unemployed. This includes all unemployed, those whose jobs were lost due to COVID-19, those already on the Live Register pre-pandemic and those in society that face particular challenges in finding and sustaining employment.” (p8)
Figure 6 (p33) describes the type of services and supports that are made available to people depending on whether or not they are in receipt of a Jobseeker’s payment, and whether or not their Probability of Exit score indicates a low-risk, medium-risk, or high-risk of long-term unemployment. Into this latter category they have also included people who are aged under 30. What is not clear from this graph is how exactly Intreo will engage with people who are not in receipt of a Jobseeker’s payment, people who view themselves as unemployed and require assistance to find meaningful employment.
Many people find access to the labour market difficult because, for example, their age, address, ethnicity, disability and/or parent alone. To that end Principle 3 of the European Pillar of Social Rights is critically important, it states: Regardless of gender, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation, everyone has the right to equal treatment and opportunities regarding employment, social protection, education, and access to goods and services available to the public. Equal opportunities of under-represented groups shall be fostered.
Under the fourth strand of action, Working for All – Leaving No One Behind, the Government notes that “COVID-19 has changed the context. However, we cannot afford to neglect our responsibility to those people within our community who before COVID-19, were already facing significant labour market barriers. Accordingly, we now set out our approach to delivering, during the lifetime of this strategy, a Public Employment Service that works for all.” (p62)
Though many of these commitments under this strand are welcome, it is questionable if this strategy will indeed deliver on a public employment service for all. A stronger commitment to a person centred and wrap around service for everyone of working age, regardless of their social welfare status, is required. To that end the change of funding model for community based employment services raises serious concerns: a payments by result model is not compatible with an inclusive Public Employment Service - a service that should offer flexible and appropriate supports to anyone of working age who needs them.
The Government has noted that in implementing the seventeen UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Ireland will be guided by two key principles:
- That every person is entitled to a life of dignity in which they can fulfil their full potential; and
- That the economic, social and environmental requirements of such a life are fundamentally linked and interdependent on each other. In putting these principles into practice, Ireland pledges that no one will be left behind and that we will endeavour to reach the furthest behind first.
While in the Programme for Government, Our Shared Future, they state they will:
- Protect core weekly social welfare rates.
- Recognise the importance of ancillary benefits and eligibility criteria to vulnerable groups. (p74)
Given the impact of the rising cost of living it will be imperative that the first bullet point is understood to mean protecting the purchasing power of these payments, but as that power has slipped, it would now mean enhancing them. Secondly, that the system must strive to ensure that people in difficult circumstances do not find themselves without proper supports in what is a rule bound and complex system.
UN SDG 8 seeks to “Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all.” Access to the Living Wage and greater certainty of hours and therefore improved income security could make a real improvement in the lives of many people. Some people who experience discrimination in the labour market seek to address their unemployment through self-employment and an important support for them is the Back to Work Enterprise Allowance (BTWEA). The scheme runs for two years, but the INOU believes that an additional year would be beneficial for participants.
In the 2021 Economic Recovery Plan the Government states “An increased focus will be placed on building an inclusive society and labour market with greater emphasis on good quality employment, increasing participation and reducing barriers as the economy recovers, ensuring the benefits of the recovery are widely shared.” Such a development will be critical and community based organisations have a key role to play “as Ireland moves through the recovery, a space to discuss areas of shared concern affecting the economy, society, the environment, employment and the labour market more broadly must be ensured.” (p46)
It would also be in keeping with the UN SDG 16 which aims to “Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels”. Of particular importance is Target 16.7 which seeks to “Ensure responsive, inclusive, participatory and representative decision-making at all levels”.
The full submission is linked here.