Ms Bríd O'Brien:

I thank the committee for inviting us to speak to the members today. I will deal with the issues from the perspective of the individual unemployed person and our call to the State to put in place the correct supports to help people to manage their unemployment initially and preferably to find a sustainable job, and a decent one at that.

It is important that the Government stands by its commitment in the programme for Government to maintain social welfare rates. More than two thirds of those who are currently unemployed are surviving solely on the basic rate. It is vital that those supports are maintained. We are also conscious that, for many people, the additional and secondary supports are critical and that these also need to be maintained, given the degrees of poverty in which people are living.

Supports such as family income supplement, the reintroduction of the back to work allowance and the more proactive promotion of supports are critical in the journey from welfare to work. Clear, good information is needed to allow people to make an informed choice about moving from welfare to work. In particular, it is very important that the system moves to an hours-based social welfare system which will facilitate people to take up part-time work and maintain and develop their links in the labour market.

On the broader activation front, it is critical that the education training changes taking place and the changes taking place in social protection and activation are all learner centred and that people are supported to make good choices with regard to education and training to help them to find decent work. People should be offered choices so that they do not feel - as is currently feared - that they have to take the first offer. They must be enabled to make informed choices by a system which is designed to do so. It is critical that as part of the reform, these supports would be put in place to ensure front-line staff are well trained, well informed and can offer that good guidance to help people in accessing employment, education and reskilling.

Some unemployed people may wish to address their own unemployment and it is important that supports for enterprise are in place. I refer to the re-introduction of the longer back to work enterprise allowance, which would be welcome, as would any new developments. The local enterprise offices need to be inclusive of unemployed people and their needs.

The community and voluntary sector plays a key role in addressing unemployment. It is often the first port of call for services and frequently is the only employer in a locality. The role of the sector and its employment programmes needs to be acknowledged.

As Ireland moves out of the troika arrangement and into the post-troika period, the relentless pursuit of austerity will not get people back to work. We need to deal with these issues from a more constructive standpoint. We need to decide how to invest in Ireland's tomorrow and how to give hope to unemployed people, young people leaving school and education, and older unemployed people that they will find good work in this country.