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

We often hear bandied about the expression of asking people to work for nothing. This scheme is even worse than that because the reality of what the Government is proposing is that it will cost people to go to work and they will end up poorer because of this mechanism. It is a disgrace that such a proposition is even on the table.

We must look beyond the consequences for the individual, bad and all as they are. These people will be frogmarched out onto the streets, no doubt in high visibility jackets, to pick up some litter as a warning to the rest of us to be careful about what might happen. Far more serious is the undermining of public sector jobs that this mechanism facilitates. It is a cover-up for the erosion of council services which the public sector recruitment embargo has facilitated. Not only that, it is economic lunacy, because it is replacing what were secure permanent and pensionable jobs with a chain gang. The result is that young people have no choice but to leave the country.

The Fingal County Council area, where I am based, has the lowest and youngest population in the country. Only 21 out of the 1,300 council employees are below 30 years of age and I imagine most of these are 29 years of age. Therefore, by next year there will be no one under the age of 30 years in the council. Is it any wonder young people have to emigrate? The functions that were being done are now either being outsourced to yellow pack companies with no decent terms and conditions or the jobs are not being done at all.

I offer one example, that of libraries. This is probably the only public service that is available in our area. A total of 50% of the librarians are over 50 years of age and several of them are retiring. What will be the consequence? The Government is not going to recruit librarians. The services will get cut at a time when people need them. Meanwhile, potential librarians are on the dole queues while those numbers are being whittled down. This is lunacy and for the Labour Party to be part of it is almost beyond belief. I note the Labour Party has conned some of the unions into going with the scheme in return for the right to fleece people with union subscriptions. It is a disgrace and the people will not stand for it.

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