Grace O'Sullivan (Green Party) | Oireachtas source

A week is a long time in politics, and events over the last few days have certainly proven that old saying. Only one week ago I was considering the new optimism in the air. There was much talk in the media - and indeed in this neck of the woods - of the so-called turnabout in the economy, the abundance of jobs already created, jobs soon to be created and even so-called sustainable jobs. Folk in certain political quarters were giving themselves lots of pats on the back and there was something of an air of celebration creeping about. I do not wish to be the bearer of bad tidings but, fellow Senators, it is high time we took a reality check. With the most obvious impacts of Brexit and the resulting shockwaves across the international money markets, it has become a little more obvious that we cannot be complacent about our own apparent economic recovery.

Only two weeks ago the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Deputy Mary Mitchell O'Connor, visited this Chamber. I mean no disrespect to the Minister when I say that her visit was a little bit like the annual school visits from the local mayor that I experienced as a child. In her address to the House the Minister spoke of the Government's goal of achieving sustainable full employment. She said:

This Government's goal is to achieve sustainable full employment. We want all people to have the opportunity to enjoy rewarding work. We want to ensure that all people can participate and contribute their full potential to the economy and society.

This is all very laudable. The Minister went on:

The Low Pay Commission will make its next recommendations on the national minimum wage for 2017 in July. Its recommendations must be evidence based. We want a minimum wage that is both fair and sustainable. We want to assist as many low-paid workers as is reasonably practicable without creating significant adverse consequences for employment or competitiveness.

I repeat the Minister's words: "We want to assist as many low-paid workers as is reasonably practicable without creating significant adverse consequences for employment or competitiveness." In other words, the Government might do something for those who need it most but only if it does not cost anything for those who have the most. Does it take a commission to tell us that people living under the current circumstances of the economy cannot survive on the minimum wage? The cost of living is going up and extra charges are creeping in left, right and centre, with the latest fiasco being the bin charges controversy - yet another mismanaged shambles. I wonder about the use of the word "sustainable". It must be asked whether the word, and the concept of it, is open to interpretation? It clearly is - and a very loose interpretation. If the concept of sustainable work was applied according to my understanding, we would be living in a society where employment is moving in a very different direction. As far as I am concerned, a sustainable job is one that would actually sustain a person and a family. A sustainable job is one in which social, environmental and economic needs are addressed and met. A sustainable workforce is one in which people are employed in jobs that not only pay a wage but have their psychological and economic well-being included in the package. A sustainable job is one in which the needs of the employee and his or her family come first. These are pretty basic tenets of sustainability. However, I do not hear much reference to these concepts being bandied about along with the new favourite catchphrase, "sustainable jobs". The sad reality for so many people in this country is that the idea of a sustainable job, or indeed any job, is beyond them.

Consider my home town of Waterford. A recent damning report prepared by two lecturers at Waterford Institute of technology, Dr. Ray Griffin and Dr. Cormac O'Keeffe, shows that Waterford and the south east are at an economic crisis point. Unemployment in the region continues to rise after 25 years of government neglect. Unemployment in the south east is one and a half times higher than the national average, with a stark figure of 1,200 fewer people in employment than six months ago. This is in the wake of the high-profile Action Plan for Jobs, which was launched by the Government last year.

We live in a country in which, increasingly, politics is at a disconnect from the citizens of the land. It is a land where the aspirations, whitewashing and rose-tinted pictures painted by our silver-tongued elected representatives bear no resemblance to the reality faced by so many in this country as they try to cope with the challenge of battling through the slog that is daily survival - the day-to-day and hour-to-hour struggle that is just getting by. We need to bring politics and some sense of real hope back into people's lives. It is our job to represent the citizens of this country. That is our job, folks, so let us get on with it, roll up our sleeves and get it done.