Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE) | Oireachtas source

In response to Deputy Barry on the issue of JobBridge 2.0, the Taoiseach was coy about what he described as the pathways to work scheme. The language he used in respect of activating people who are unemployed, in particular young people, was strikingly reminiscent of the language used around JobBridge. Let us remind ourselves what "scambridge" was about. It involved tens of thousands of workers being grossly exploited. They were compelled to work for free for nine months in fear of losing their social welfare benefits. They were paid €1.25 per hour for jobs such as a sandwich artist or working for a national chain of garages, which employed almost 30 people, saving itself almost €400,000 in wages. There was widespread abuse in the public sector to get around the employment moratorium at the time. The Taoiseach should come out and say what he is proposing. What rate of pay is the Government planning for this new pathways to work scheme? Is the Government planning to make it compulsory? Would it not be far better to invest in education, including apprenticeship schemes and on-the-job training, and a green jobs programme to create the jobs that are needed to do the work for a rapid and just transition?

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