Joanna Tuffy (Dublin Mid West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

We had a recession. As result of the reduced business being done, jobs were not being created, as they would be in a period of growth. The public service contracted, but in other countries staff were just fired. Here there were voluntary redundancies and a recruitment embargo, to which the various stakeholders signed up, albeit reluctantly. There are contradictions in what people say. On the one hand, they do not like JobBridge because it involves private employers and it is felt the scheme should just involve the State or community sector. On the other hand, there is criticism, from people like Senator Gerard P. Craughwell, because the public sector has taken people on.

I worked on a community employment scheme and it definitely helped me. I had an English and history degree and I could not get a job, there just was not one there for me. I had no experience. I had no typing skills and I used to handwrite my essays in college. The scheme helped me to get a job in the public sector eventually, when it started recruiting again. I was a clerical officer and I needed to be able to type and use a computer. There is such contradiction; one cannot be a vet because it is too high class and one cannot be a cleaner because it is too low, so what is in between?