John Halligan (Waterford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

It is interesting to those of us on this side of the House, particularly many of the Independents, Sinn Féin and, one would have thought, the Labour Party, that if one was watching television at home and the Conservative Party in England or Margaret Thatcher if she were still alive came up with this idea one would be aghast, as are many people. I am aware from speaking to some people on unemployment benefit, and there are many in Waterford, which has one of the highest rates, that they find it offensive, humiliating and soul destroying. It is offensive and humiliating because this is the best the Government can offer people who are unemployed. This is what it is offering to young people who might have left school with qualifications but who, through no fault of their own, cannot go any further or get a sustainable job. The Government is offering them €1 an hour. It is outrageous. Deputy O'Dea is correct. I cannot understand how anyone in the Labour Party would support this measure. The Government is telling people they must work for €1 an hour. If we heard of that happening in India or South America every Member in this House would be outraged. It is camouflaging statistics. All of these people will be taken off the live register. Someone from Fine Gael made an appalling statement last week to the effect that it was creating 300 jobs a week. Are these the 300 jobs a week that it is creating?

The problem is that the Government is not fooling anyone. It is not fooling the unemployed, the media or the people who will have to take up these jobs. It is fooling itself, and all the statistics and the opinion polls are showing that people no longer believe the Government. All this guff about how the Government will deal with unemployment, treat people with dignity and create sustainable jobs means nothing when it comes up with harebrained schemes such as this one. My hope is that those people in that scheme will join a union, go on strike and bring it down around itself.

See this speech in context