Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party) | Oireachtas source

The Minister did not address the issue of Advance Pitstop with good reason, because this blatant exploitation calls her bluff and bluster on the JobBridge scheme. Advance Pitstop is the Irish arm of a major multinational tyre company. Advertising for 28 interns on JobBridge provides for a displacement of proper, full-time jobs, and that is quite clear. The advertisement by Advance Pitstop offers €50 a week, specifying a 40 hour week. That is the equivalent of €1.25 an hour. That beats even the super-exploitation of Gama Construction, which we blew out of the water in 2005.

What does the Minister make of two science companies advertising for interns on €50 per week, and specifying that the interns must have a PhD in science? One company describes itself as using chemistry, physics and other sciences to manipulate atoms to make molecules for new products, better known as nanotechnology, the very cutting edge of industry and technology. It is offering €50 per week to PhD graduates. Is this the brave new world the Labour Party and the Government is sponsoring through JobBridge?

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