Employment

Yesterday the Irish Government released new figures suggesting that unemployment was down 3,000 on the last results. However the reality is that many unemployed people are not being counted on the live register figures. As many as 20,000 people are presently in limbo as they did not have their Stamp paid for them by their employers or had the wrong type of stamp paid, these people have to go to the community welfare officer each week to get a living allowance to ensure that they are at least able to buy food, it is not fault of these people that the have been left in limbo but it suits the government to keep them there as the live register figures stay lower than the actual figures. Also people in receipt of other social welfare payments such as back to work scheme or government provided training are not included in the live figures. Recently the Social Welfare offices have been sending out letters on mass to those in receipt of Job Seekers allowance telling them to turn up for computer courses for which many are ill equipped to take on, an artificial demand is being created for the private companies delivering these courses and many are being taken off the live register under false pretences. This Government and its intellectual mouth-pieces are continuing to massage the figures rather than face up to their responsibilities to help stimulate new business, for too long this government sat back as multi-nationals provided the employment and this Government was nothing more than a ribbon cutter at new factories and offices. This Government needs to be replaced with a Government that is people centred and creative, only then will we have a real opportunity to take this country out of the deep depression into which it is falling.