Clare Daly (Dublin North, Socialist Party) | Oireachtas source

The Minister is again refusing to deal with the question. People need a job if they are to get back to work. It is not that there is something wrong with people or there is a defect which means they must be retrained through picking up litter for a county council. These people need jobs. Some of these people may be in a later life after 25 or 30 years working, so at 50 they may find themselves unemployed for two years for example, despite being a highly skilled craftsperson, and end up doing this work with a local authority. It is ludicrous to think this will make them more fit for work. The Government is hollowing out jobs in the local authorities by outsourcing jobs for craftspersons and librarians. They are being replaced with a cheap labour scam, which is scandalous. Fine Gael would do such a thing but for the Minister to stand over this action is quite shocking.

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