Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the witnesses. I do not know if they were here for the earlier discussion, but hopefully this one will not be as heated.

The witness stated that Social Justice Ireland's recent findings found that the Government policies pursued over many years resulted in the ongoing exclusion of people who already found themselves on the margins of society. I agree with that, and I do not wish to start another argument. The group's focus is on unemployment and I share its concerns regarding the long-term unemployed and the working poor. The witness referred to a target of 1.3% for the long-term unemployed. How does the group arrive at the targets? I presume it is based on the belief that they can be delivered. Did Social Justice Ireland focus on the concept of zero-hour contracts? They are becoming an increasingly difficult issue for workers and the working poor. These contracts dehumanise workers, put huge pressure on State and social welfare transfers and reduce people's disposable income. The witness mentioned the different groups of those affected. People with disabilities are among the groups in Ireland that are marginalised. Travellers are another group, in respect of moving on from education to employment.

The report found that the overall levels of funding for education in Ireland are out of step with the stated objectives of smart growth and inclusive growth. The non-progression rates in some areas of third level education were brought to the fore recently in the Higher Education Authority's report on progression in Irish higher education. It highlights the two-tier nature, if people wish to view it that way, of Irish society in that students from less well-off backgrounds are over-represented in the institutes of technology and are most at risk of dropping out of their level 6 and level 7 courses. There is a link there to the lack of support for students coming from those backgrounds. The non-progression rate is between 26% and 27%, a huge drop-out rate for those people.

Representatives from the ESRI appeared before the committee earlier. Guidance counselling at second level impacted most heavily on disadvantaged students. That policy has been reversed but its impact is still being felt. The ESRI representatives spoke about apprenticeships and so forth. One of the difficulties appears to be apprentices getting a start with an employer. Many people who are in the trades now are being pushed to be self-employed, so there is a difficulty in getting an employer to take on an apprentice. Does the witness see that as an area in which investment and study are required?

With regard to equality proofing, this takes place in approximately 60 countries around the world. The budget in the North is equality proofed, for example. Does the witness have a view on equality proofing our annual budget? Would it help matters to progress? Irish Aid is involved in some of the 60 countries, such as Tanzania, where we support the budgetary process. At the same time we do not do equality proofing in Ireland, which is a contradiction. I look forward to Ms Murphy's views in that regard.