Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I echo the concerns raised by Deputy Willie O'Dea in regard to the procedure for dealing with these proposals. We are stuck here at this hour of the night without yet having reached the pensions provisions. This is unacceptable, notwithstanding the merit of some of those proposals.

This amendment would require much longer than ten minutes to deal with adequately, but I will be brief in order to accommodate other speakers. This is another section which is all about sanction and stick, with no carrot whatsoever. The vast majority of people I know who have lost a job - we are dealing here with jobseeker's benefit and allowance - would love to have employment. They want to be out of the house every day earning money and have no wish to sit around doing nothing. Sometimes, however, the enormity of what has happened to them does not hit for some time, while in other cases it happens quite quickly. Some people go into a depression which prevents them from engaging properly. That is not, however, an excuse not to engage with activation measures. The valid reason for a failure to engage is when no activation programmes are available and there is no access to training and education at a given time. A person might, for example, be laid off in June but the education course in which he or she wishes to participate does not commence until later in the year.

There is no definition of just cause in the Bill. I presume that is up to the inspector in an office to decide, but nothing is ruled in or out. One person's just cause might not be another's and that is when one appeals to the social welfare appeals office. Given that the first amendment deals with jobseeker's benefit, it is pointless because by the time the appeal will be heard, if the current delays continue - I hope they will not - the person concerned will have transferred to a different payment, especially given that earlier this year the Minister reduced the length of time for which people are entitled to draw jobseeker's benefit. I know that in Finglas, for example, there are very few community employment places available. Most of them have been taken up. There are no courses available and there is very little training because the places have been taken up. That means that the majority of those on jobseeker’s allowance or benefit want to engage. If one can find courses in any FÁS centre for which there is no uptake and demand, I would love to point some of the people in Ballyfermot towards them. The area has always had a high level of unemployment, but the people there want to take up courses and ensure they have the opportunity and the skills required when jobs become available. However, they do not have access to courses and by courses I mean meaningful courses which are fit for purpose, but we do not have them as yet. I believe the Minister is working in that direction with the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Ruairí Quinn. If SOLAS and the changes to FÁS were in place, if the changes to the VECs, with tutors travelling to community employment centres to give courses, were rolled out and if there was no uptake or people sat back waiting, one could argue for this amendment. However, I cannot see a huge level of refusals to engage in any community. I asked when we discussed the last amendment about the 65 year olds who would now be on jobseeker's benefit. This also applies to them. It is absolutely crazy that, having reached the retirement age set when they started work, they will now be punished and whipped into line to ensure their activation, even though the likelihood is they will not end up in any meaningful or full-time employment in the vast number of cases, given the state of the economy. I am not saying 65 year olds should not work if they can find it, but I am being realistic. There should be some recognition, through a transitional arrangement, for those who are 65 years or over, but the last State transition pension was payable at the age of 65 years.

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