Congress - Sense of Urgency Needed on Jobless Rise
2 May 2008
Congress today (May 2) said it that while it was pleased that numbers on the live register had remained unchanged for April, a sense of urgency was now required on this issue at official level.
Congress Economic Advisor Paul Sweeney, said it is now time to "inject a sense of urgency into this debate - all parties were been aware in advance that unemployment was going to rise this year, so where are the contingency plans, where is the response from employers and government?"
"The large increase in the first quarter of the year was disappointing, so the April figures are welcome in that regard. But we need some coherent joined-up-thinking on this issue. To date, we see little evidence of that. Government and employers should already be implementing a response to ensure the impact of the rise in unemployment is mitigated."
Mr Sweeney continued: "We must not and cannot wait another 5 or 10 years for a response, by which time the unemployed have lost their skills and the problem will have become more entrenched. We must put a coherent skills strategy in place and facilitate people getting back to work as fast as possible. Now is the time to act to introduce paid educational leave and to implement skills training in many more workplaces".
He also said consideration should be given to linking rates of unemployment benefit more closely with people's actual incomes and pointed to the Nordic system of Flexicurity as a way for Ireland to retain its position of one of the most productive workforces in the world, Mr Sweeney concluded.
ends