Kevin Humphreys (Labour) | Oireachtas source

The Minister is quite correct in what she is saying; this is just a reflection, mapping or mirroring of the current legislation in respect of jobseeker's benefit and allowance. What we are hearing in the House today is a reflection of what we are hearing on the ground. With the very low unemployment rate, which is very welcome, we are now dealing with legacy issues and intergenerational unemployment in our workforce. We sometimes hear about progression plans. I accept the aim of the legislation. It relates to the self-employed and how we will deal with them. What we are hearing about in the House, and what we are seeing, is the day-to-day lived experience of people with regard to Intreo offices, progression plans and so on. We were at 10% or 14% unemployment; we are now below 5% and still dropping. We are now dealing with people who, unfortunately, have issues other than unemployment. That is why we are getting bad press in respect of the system. I will not be supporting the amendment, but I ask the Minister to look at how we deal with difficult cases in respect of long-term unemployment and how they are dealt with by different agencies and the traditional mechanisms. Many of the people with whom I am dealing and who have had negative experiences with the support services have many other issues outside of unemployment. I accept what Senator Higgins is trying to do in respect of the legislation, but I do not believe we are getting to the nub of the issue. It is about the current legislation, intergenerational unemployment and citizens who have other issues such as addiction to drugs or alcohol, issues with anger management, or a lack of educational opportunities when they were most needed. We really need to hone our responses to people who have been unemployed in the long term because they are affected by many issues outside of unemployment.