Unemployment in Ireland is now at crisis levels and must be tackled with the same dedication and zeal with which successive governments have pursued deficit reduction and the imposition of austerity, the Irish Congress of Trade Unions has said.
Responding to new figures which show the jobless rate has risen for the third successive month, Congress Chief Economist Paul Sweeney said: "We have not seen unemployment at this high level since 1993. It is as if all the gains of the last two decades have been wiped out by reckless banks and a European political elite that refuses to learn the lessons of history, or even the lessons of daily experience.
"With close to 15 percent out of work It is now imperative that this Government starts to aggressively tackle the jobless crisis. It is clear we need to stimulate demand and get some life back into the domestic economy.
"Congress has already put forward costed proposals on how this could be done and how it could be funded. Our plan - Delivering Growth & Jobs - could see close to 100,000 jobs created. Doing nothing, or tinkering at the edges, is simply not an option," Mr Sweeney said.
