Government Policies Are Making jobs Crisis Worse- O'Brien

Government Policies are Making Jobs Crisis Worse- O'Brien

The government’s austerity measures are making the jobs crisis worse, according to Sinn Féin councillor Jonathan O’Brien. He was speaking in response to the latest unemployment figures, which showed a rise of 5,200 in the numbers signing on during December, bringing the numbers on the live register to 444,000.

Cllr O’Brien said:

“Today’s figures show the human cost of the government’s economic policies. Behind the statistics are real people – families struggling to pay mortgages and give their children a decent life, young people close to giving up on a future in Ireland and emigrating abroad, men and women driven to despair by the search for jobs that simply do not exist.”

“This government, which has poured almost €100 billion into our criminal banks, has done nothing for the unemployed. Minister O’Cuiv today cited Tús, the scheme whereby the government is forcing 5,000 unemployed people to work in the community sector in return for the dole, as an example of it taking action on unemployment. Is this the best he can do? The unemployed need real jobs with a real future, not a workfare programme.”

“The truth is the government’s policies are making the jobs crisis worse. By gutting the spending power of low- and middle-income earners, four hairshirt budgets have strangled economic recovery in the cradle. It is no accident that the latest rise in unemployment comes directly after the government unleashed its most savage budget to date.”

“We need a comprehensive job creation strategy as well as fiscal stimulus to get the economy growing again. Sinn Féin has put forward 80 specific suggestions about how we would create employment, while our pre-budget submission included a €7.6 billion stimulus package over three years. If a fraction of the money that has been put into the banks had been invested in creating employment, today’s live register figures would be much lower and the country would by now be well on the way to economic recovery.”

For further information or comment contact Cllr Jonathan O’Brien 085-2133907