Unemployment is not a ‘life style choice’

Speaking in re-action to comments of Minister Joan Burton in today’s Sunday Independent where she referred to young people leaving school and entering the social welfare system as a ‘life style choice’ Labour councillor Cian O’Callaghan said:

“Young people who leave school and can’t find jobs do not choose unemployment as a ‘life style choice’. Nor are they to blame for our jobs and economic crisis. The responsibility for the crisis lies squarely with a political system that is wrecking our economy by implementing failed policies of cuts and austerity. The facts are that the standardised unemployment rate hit 14.8% in May of this year and that young people are emigrating from Ireland in search of jobs at numbers not seen since the 1980’s. The Government is continuing to implement a public service recruitment ban which is contributing to this high level of unemployment and emigration. Additionally Ireland now suffers from structural unemployment where there is a mis-match between the skill set of many younger people and any jobs that might become available.

“A key part of Government strategy to drive our economy and jobs growth forward is the National Literacy and Numeracy Strategy. This aims to ensure that everyone who leaves our school system has mastered numeracy and literacy. However the recent Government decision to cap the numbers of Special Needs Assistants sets this strategy backwards. Special Needs Assistants play a vital role in ensuring that students with learning difficulties get the help that they need to bring them up to speed with their peers.”

“The Government jobs initiative has failed to deliver new jobs and instead has contributed to job displacement. The jobs bridge website offers a large number of internships as kitchen assistants, receptionists, sales assistants, advertising assistants and so on. In other words employers are availing of the scheme to fill low paid jobs with the taxpayer picking up the bill. Far from creating jobs this scheme is contributing to unemployment by displacing real jobs.”

“The Government would serve us best by bringing forward policies to stimulate growth and create jobs rather than blaming young people for the unemployment crisis. It has always been a key tactic of the political right to blame unemployed people for the lack of jobs. These cynical slurs are then used to lay the basis for launching savage attacks on our welfare system. Yet again we are witnessing a government that is very good at attacking the unemployed, the young, the sick, the weak and the vulnerable and absolutely useless at standing up to wealthy and powerful elites.”