Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I will make a comment that cuts across all of that. Many people on social welfare who want to participate in various schemes or start their own businesses are in a trap because they cannot get any help. It is almost as if they fall into an abyss. They have to be on social welfare for a year before they can get on the back-to-work scheme and many other schemes. They despair in terms of trying to get out of the trap to which I refer. Many of the schemes in my area do great work. They have people in their late 50s and early 60s who will not get a job in the economy yet they are sent to JobPath to write curricula vitae for jobs that do not exist. What are our guests' views in that regard? I am of the view that it is creating a logjam and that it is an issue which must be resolved. I accept that it is a matter for the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection but it is an issue that affects everyone.

Another point is that it is also about the difficulties people in rural areas experience. Yesterday, we had people before another committee on the issue of school transport. If one member of a family living in a rural area works, they cannot get a medical card or school transport. They cannot send their children to school and end up telling themselves that they would be better off if they did not have jobs. That is the reality for many people in rural Ireland. Somebody somewhere needs to realise the impact the withdrawal of services will have eventually. All of that is having a negative knock-on effect. I would like the witnesses views on those issues, but particularly the issue of people who find themselves unemployed and how they can get assistance to get back on their feet and back to work rather than being sent down a route where there is no work.