Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Cuirim fáilte roimh an díospóireacht seo. Caithfidh mé a rá go bhfuil eagla orm anocht do chomhairleoirí contae Fhine Gael as Contae Dhún na nGall agus do chomhairleoirí contae Pháirtí an Lucht Oibre as Dún na nGall mar vótáil an dá pháirtí sin, agus ina measc, Páirtí Fhianna Fáil agus na Neamhspleáigh ar chomhairle contae Dhún na nGall, i gcoinne na scéime seo agus dhein siad cáineadh láidir uirthi. Chaith siad vóta nach rachadh an chomhairle contae i ngleic leis an scéim seo i nDún na nGall. Ó bheith ag éisteacht leis an gcáineadh láidir atá déanta ag an Rialtas agus Teachtaí Dála an Rialtais ar ár rún anseo anocht, tá eagla orm faoi cad é a bheidh le rá ag na Teachtaí Dála lena gcomhairlí contae féin sna laethanta amach romhainn.

I commend the councillors in Donegal County Council who unanimously passed a Sinn Féin motion condemning the use of Gateway in that county and pledging the council to distance itself from its use. I congratulate the Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and Labour Party councillors who had the conviction to stand up and be counted, and supported the motion. Councils across the State will get their chance to vote on similar motions. Unfortunately, we are hearing that councillors in other local authorities are not similarly disposed. It is clear that senior party figures have had a word in their ears and told them not to support this type of motion, which is unfortunate.

It presents a huge challenge for the management in Donegal County Council. As I said on that evening, it puts it in conflict with the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government. However, the council's management needs to stand with the members of that council who were unanimous in echoing the view of the people of Donegal. It is important that the management comes down on the side of the people and not on the side of the Minister, Deputy Hogan, and the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government and abides by the unanimous decision of the council.

That council like many others has borne the brunt of cuts not only to services, but also to staff. In 2008, the council had 1,243 core staff and today it has 810, a cut of 34%. Some 433 core local authority workers have left that council in the past five years. The Government in its wisdom has assigned 80 Gateway positions to the council. This is a lucrative scheme that allows the council to fill posts that cannot be filled because of the recruitment embargo in areas that have not been serviced because of the imposition of the policies of the current and previous Governments. The council will regard it as an addition to the 84 JobBridge places it has used in recent years, which is the second highest use of the JobBridge scheme among local authorities.

My colleagues have pointed out that our motion proposes an alternative scheme, focused on intense training, similar to the community employment scheme. We are suggesting alternatives despite what Deputy Creed and others might say to the contrary. We are asking the Government to introduce activation schemes that respect those who are long-term unemployed and provide opportunities, and crucially training for those who are long-term unemployed. It also needs to be non-compulsory, another area where this scheme fails.

An issue that really gets up my nose is the issue of unfairness. I heard Deputy Creed and others say they would love to give more than €20 to these long-term unemployed, whom the Government is going to force to take up these schemes, but they say they cannot because they say they live in the real world. I say this to those Deputies, some of whom may be sitting in their offices watching this. Where was the real world when they had to deal with their super-junior Ministers of State? Where was the real world for them? They are on €130,042 per annum. However, for them, because they got the title of "super-junior" and had the privilege of attending Cabinet meetings with no other responsibility, they got an extra €17,205 - and, of course, one went to Fine Gael and one went Labour. Where was the real world for them?

Where is the real world for Richie Boucher on his €839,000, which the Government refused to vote against last year, and he received the exact same pay this year? Where is the real world for the advisers of the Ministers who bring forward these schemes and who breach their own pay caps? This is something which really annoys me and many people. It is disrespectful that the Government has two levels; there are those who need to be protected at all costs and the others who will be forced into these schemes without any training or real financial support.

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