Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

I will not press the amendment to a vote. I do not see the point in doing so because I know it will be defeated. However, I wish to comment on what the Minister of State said. His opening remarks are shocking. The implication is that if one pays young people practically nothing and cuts their dole to the minimum, it will force them out the door to work. That is not true. I would love to get my hands on the completed report. We should insist on a full debate on it when it becomes available because it will be discovered that at the same time as the cut to the social protection measures, there was a move to push young people into other labour activation measures. We will discuss this matter at the committee tomorrow.

There are many problems with JobPath and the other initiatives that were taken. Deputy Catherine Murphy did a very good exposé on some of the private companies that are being engaged to work with young people and often push them into bogus self-employment contracts. There are significant problems with the way we are treating young people in terms of future jobs and their prospects in this country. It stems from the idea that one pushes them out the door, cuts their pay and forces them into any old job they will take. That does not take cognisance of what is emerging and neither does it take cognisance of the number of young people who have been forced to emigrate because it is unbearable to try to live on that level of income support. The Minister of State should try to live on that amount.

See this speech in context