Lynn Ruane (Independent) | Oireachtas source

It is very important to say that we have a history, as has been said by Senator Higgins, with the jobseeker's transitional payment, which completely put women and mothers in a vulnerable position. When they were transferred from the one-parent family payment to the jobseeker's transitional payment, they were expected to go to work when their child reached a certain age, not the age of 18, regardless of whether they had support at home or access to childcare. They were put on the jobseeker's transitional payment and many women sat in front of caseworkers where those caseworkers encouraged them against going back to education and arts degrees and tried to direct them towards low-skilled jobs. One woman was told not to study philosophy because it would not get her anywhere. These were women who were looking to re-educate themselves. All that caseworker could see was whether this was going to get that person to be some successful economic unit in the world. If it did not and felt too abstract and far away, these people were discouraged. We have a history of not ensuring that people are able to fulfil their own potential in their own way, whether it is through education or community education. We have tried to force people into low-skilled jobs.

If people end up on this scheme with a low-paid job and they do not have a degree or a specific profession, they will be more susceptible to being put into an inappropriate work placement or work experience because that has happened, does happen and continues to happen.