Mr. John Farrell:

I echo Dr. Healy's comments and he is absolutely right. A common theme running through the three presentations is how integral social policy should be to the European project. Deputy Timmy Dooley mentioned jobs, which are at the heart of this issue. A range of services and supports can be put in place and it is vital that they are, but they must lead to work for people. That is key. Investment in job creation at European level must be a priority; nationally it will also be very important. There is a need for quality in the training, education and range of services required to support people in getting back to work. Supporting those in low paid work and precarious employment is also key. We must ensure decent levels of income support are available for people when they are unemployed. These are the three interlocking areas we see as very important.

Deputy Timmy Dooley asked how we might go about strengthening the social dialogue or hearing from unemployed persons. I will outline briefly some of the work we have done on this issue. We have arranged a series of meetings with some of our members who are short-term and long-term unemployed, some whom go to local branch social welfare offices and others to local social welfare offices and the new Intreo service offices. We have gone directly to the social welfare and Intreo offices to hear from people about their experiences. I am glad to state we will meet senior departmental officials to speak about the experiences of unemployed persons. This model has worked very well and we would like to develop it further and see it replicated in the case of smaller community-based organisations. Community infrastructure is vital, as is the social infrastructure.

Deputy Timmy Dooley also asked what happened when people lost contact and connection with the world of work and its social aspect. Investment in a range of clubs, sports organisations and communities at a range of levels is vital to ensure people have places to go and others to talk to. Good practices have been developed by local employment services; for example, each week people volunteer to speak about the jobs they have obtained and the training and education courses they have completed. People are a very useful resource for each other. They keep coming back to celebrate the successes of those who leave, who are all too few in the current crisis. They are also a great help to each other in informing each other about courses. This can be replicated across the board. With regard to wider social dialogue, the social inclusion forum hears directly from people who experience disadvantage. This process could be very useful and needs to be effectively resourced.

We receive a number of requests from various media outlets with regard to people's individual experiences or comments on various aspects of being unemployed. It never ceases to surprise me that the biggest response is always on issues such as lack of sleep which are mental health issues which arise from long-term unemployment. It is vital that we tackle them. Keeping people connected and networked to potential jobs, training, education, community groups, social clubs and sports organisation is key. Employment services must have a job at the end and involve quality training and education courses.