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THE GOVERNMENT IS to pay employers to recruit long-term unemployed people in a bid to shrink the numbers on the Live Register.
Unveiling its Action Plan for Jobs 2013 this morning, the Government said it also wants to get 2,000 more small businesses trading online over the next two years and increase the number of ICT graduates.
The Taoiseach, Tánaiste and Minister for Jobs highlighted what they called seven “disruptive reform” measures which they say will have a big impact on unemployment, which currently stands at 14.6 per cent and has remained similarly high throughout the economic crisis.
The Action plan is made up of 333 different ideas and plans to be implemented this year by Government departments and state agencies.
Taoiseach Enda Kenny said the Government’s top priority is “to get Ireland working again”.
“We are rebuilding our economy brick-by-brick, making it stronger, ensuring that successes gained are here for the long term,” he said. “The Action Plan for Jobs will continue to focus on our traditional enterprise sectors along with new growth industries”.
The new measures include:
The Government says last year’s Action Plan helped to support “net growth” of almost 12,000 in private sector employment.
The Action Plan has been welcomed by retail and business groups.
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I’m going to sound negative here but how about instead of creating Mickey Mouse jobs just to play with the unemployment figures, why don’t they look at the cost of doing business in Ireland for small business. Upward only rent, rates, PRSI for the employer, etc etc etc. if it was cheaper to run a business, companies would hire staff for REAL jobs.
This is the most constructive response to this article so far Michael. The hindrances you point out to the small business is bordering on farcical. This situation is choking to death new enterprises before they have a chance to flourish thus preventing the creation of local and sustainable employment. I’m sure addressing this situation would also have a positive impact on the brain drain.
How about employing the best person for the job not bribing companies to reduce the dole queue.
You want to employ only one extra person but I think the government is aiming a bit higher.
Stupid statement. I bet that you’re not unemployed.
There are many who, probably genuinely, that “anything done to tackle unemployment is a good thing”. But there is a certain element of it simply being governments doing something to be seen to be doing something. I certainly think there is an element of that here.
The unemployment rate is a structural one. We effectively lost the entire construction sector which was massively inflated. That’s the problem and the reason it’s remaining so high. The government can pay employers all they want, but the positions don’t exist for the 35-65 year old construction worker. The younger ones will have emigrated or retrained, mostly under their own steam and with their own resources. The rest are long term unemployed for a reason.
Investment in R&D is, of course good, but it’s unlikely that it will provide any noticeable dent in the unemployment rate either. The IT/Pharm/Finance industries in Ireland are buoyant and recruiting but those unemployed don’t, won’t and can’t have the skills and experience needed to fill roles in this area. They recruit from overseas .
This won’t make much difference and may be a waste of money.
Alan,
You’re far too intelligent for this site. Your post reflected a modicum of logic based on some semblance of prior research and analysis. The norm here is emotion tinging on desperation. You hang around here too long you’ll get like the rest of us
Taxpayer funded cheap labour for opportunistic employers, just so Edna &co. can give themselves a pat on the back.
I would prefer, if they all got a few taps on the head…
Sounds great. I hope they have learned from job bridge which has been widely abused by employers. There should be a claw back for the state if the job disappears after the two year state payments end.
Sounds like some very worthwhile initiatives. Let’s hope they work!
Yes , lets be positive . A step in the right direction !
What about the thousands of people on job bridge, TUS and CE schemes? Will this decrease their chances of getting a proper job? Or are they deemed long term unemployed? I mean who’s gonna want to go into one of those schemes, if it lessens their chance of getting real work?
Fair point Rodrigo , and even worse if you are not in reciept of social welfare, between this and Jobs bridge you have no chance of getting a job becasue of what in effect will be state sponsored ineqaulity !!.Damn i really wanted to be positive about things today !!
This is similar to a job creation exercise brought out by FAS in the eighties. I was employed under this initiative, no experience to speak of, six months after leaving school, no experience, 20 odd years later, still employed in the same job. So in my experience at least this is a step in the right direction.
Hold on a sec.
Was the Job Bridge idea not etup to get employers to recruit unemployed people?
Oh wait Job Bridge was to give employers unpaid employees, as opposed to Action Plan for Jobs 2013, which gives employers money to recruit unemployed people.
My questions.
Will the recruited unemployed person be paid the going rate for the job or will they still be under the Job Bridge? Does this mean the Government will be giving employers money to hire unemployed unpaid people?
One wonders about the quality of said ‘jobs’. While its a damn sight better than the slave bridge and pathway to slavery options offering nothing but free labour, I’d have reservations about this. For example, would a qualified woman earn enough to cover the cost of childcare through this, if not then its useless, as far as I’m aware there are more women on the live register then men.
Also the article doesn’t clarify what these jobs would be. If its all IT then the majority all ready on the live register wouldn’t be trained. Ie the tradies left over from the boom.
It’s no good if its only a half arsed attempt at shifting numbers, I mean paying an employer to hire someone for two years is simply the sane as paying them on the dole. And least we forget the majority on the live register have lost a career. ( yes I know there are culprits who have never worked a day in their lives – but not the vast majority)
Nice to see them bringing Eamonn along for the spin. That’ll make his day.
Adebaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyooooooooooooooooooooooo
The problem with most IT jobs for this country is they’re for multinationals, any time they break the news “100 new jobs etc…” Youll find that 75% of them are for multilingual positions that irish graduates simply cannot fill, Ireland is an english speaking only country, every time we announce new IT jobs the companies have to import people to fill the majority of them , either we need a radical overhaul of language education in this country or we have to stop giving column inches to company press releases touting jobs that we simply cant fill from our own crop.
I’m dizzy from all these action plans,job bridge is a disaster and this latest plan will probably be the same,I do hope it is a success but going by past records it won’t be.
I have never seen or heard so much spin in all my life,they out doing comical Ali from the Iraq war with each press release :-)
Its nice that they’ve found a way to justify themselves, where would we be without them?
Rich !…is my guess ….
as opposed to poor.. rather than being rich per say!
What about the people that were self employed and get no welfare time to cut anybody’s dole who’s on it more than 5 years there the ones propping up the bars around the country and filling hospital beds with their minor ailments
@Joseph most other countries have a tapered welfare system (amount reduces the longer someone is claiming), this is urgently needed in Ireland, along with workfare in order to combat the cancerous black market that is destroying legitimate businesses
Blah de blah up in arms fighting each other yet again why not get out and fight to have the criminals who got the country in the mess it’s in now put where they should be and like Iceland build from the ground up no no just fight each other with war of the words same ol Eire
Like a dog eating its own vomit.
Here’s an Idea from the headline above : …
Tell that to the H.S.E. and the young nurses!
This is just playing with the figures. The Long term unemployed become more attractive to hire due to this incentive but the short term unemployed have to wait until they are 12 months out of work before they can qualify. They then become the long term unemployed.
It really does place short term unemployed at a serious dis advantage.
ps are any of u on jobseekers and getting these letters once monthly now – wiht bundles of jobs downloaded from intern scheme and fas probably – no employers named , no stamped addresse envelope – and ofr u to furnsih evidence of compliance – and they have not bothered to set up the one stop shop = costing me
* Paper
* Ink Cartridges
* Stamps
Not to mention time
I suggest that rather than dipping into the national fund ( and aint much theres) govt set iup and equip those one stop shops asap.
AND
If any of u know TDs go back to them wiht that agreement statement and tell them that u did nto elect or vote for them to put on u and your family cost of paying a loan FROM either EU or IMF to CAPITALISE BANKS
cos that what on this coutnry bill.
AND
Nr to breach it – ie terms of loan to capitalsie IBRC now in liquidations
and furthermore
ask themn did they approve of the Memorandum of Understanding signed by M Noonan P Honohan and O Rehn on 17 5 11 (setting out the terms and timetable for the capitalsiation of these banks to be reached end of this year (Bank of Irwland, IL and P , AIB and IBRC and EBS ) and whih had to be signed under Council Decision of 7 12 10 (also on Dept Website) befoe a cent cld be drawn down.
And if not then why arent ent they bringing an application ot the High Court under Art 29 5 3 stating :
That no international agreement involving a charge on public funds will be legally binind on this state unless the Terms of that agreement shall be approved by dail eireann.
That agreement between gOVT and Contributing membeer states of EU has put a heavy charge on public funds and I dont know about u but I dont see much improvement in banks – in fact contrary IBRC now in liquidation and the debt swap – it is a DEBT SWAP – not a debt cancellation.of 34 Billion.
B Cowen promised to C Bank for thsoe P notes. but im afraid carried into the memo of understanding – ie state capitalsie IBRC.
Wldnt we be much better able to cancel that debt – ie get the agreemnt of those – the otehr parties to that laon agrement – Germany and Co – if it is a ruling that it is not binding on this coutnry unless terms – main terms in Memo of Understanding approved by dail eireann. Or is it that your TD just does not want it in dail. Ask him/her.
The statge pays nothing – its we who pay . And may be more and mroe people should point that out to them who take ourt money also fr their pensions and salaries. and leaving us wiht a huge debt arising out of this jackonain agreemtn for 65 billion form EI/IMF on condition that we capitalise the banking system.
But to any of u on jobseekers allowance and if u key inot the department of finance and download the statement of joint imf/eu programme for ireland dated 28 11 10 whihc announces agreement in principle for this loan of 85 billion gross (remember the contribution we made of 17.5 billion out of the NPRF) SUBSJECT to compliance with a load of conditions as well as bank capitalisation and incl the reduction of budget deficit.
A load of them are called structural reforsm and one appying to jobseekers and or two is:
* Monitoring of jobseekers activities withe regular evidenced based reports and sanctions
plus
* STREAMLINE ADMINISTRATION OF UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS AND SOCIAL ASSISTANCE AND ACTIVE LABOUR MARKET POLICIES TO REDUCE THE OVERLAPPING OF COMPETENCIES AMOG DIFFT DEPARTMENTS ‘
I sent an e mail to Mrs Burton two years ago suggesting that the dole offices be brightened up and convertred into a one stop shop including a nationla employment centre a place one cld go to and get all the latest on jobs course etc – advers of events like jobexo all – and chareg fee for thos advertising to add to our nationla budget. I got an e mail back saying that is exacly whart they were going to do – NOUGHT A BIT DONE.
Now may be if Govt gets rid of FAS (HOW MUCH IS RENT COSTING US AND SET UP THE ONE STOP SHOP
for I dont know about u but I dont think we can afford one eur to empllouers – do u .
With a 52 billion eur loan drawn down and in cental funds (over 4 billion of which given to Ir Life and P plus Ir Life and shareholders now blocking sale of Ir Life as if that was a good deal to beging with.
MW
Mary …it costs 20,000 a year to keep someone on the dole … Therefore to cost more per employee under the €1 in every €4 scheme the employee would have to earn 80,000 euro … Which if unemployed for over a year is unlikely … Incentivising an employer to take a long term unemployed person will still be a saving
20,000 a year for someone on the dole? It’s less than 10,000! It’s max 188 pw per person x 52 = 9,776..
@Eoin, €20k figure is figured typically used as with dole you get medical card and many other allowances
A monitored internship scheme that would give recent graduates experience and training to up skill would solve a huge trap that we have at the moment for most graduates across all sectors, we have a huge pool of bright graduates with no experience and employers are slow to take them on because they don’t want to invest in them, min experience 2 years is on most adverts. Instead companies are sourcing people from all over the world and bringing them here and then complaining we don’t have enough experienced people. I don’t understand why the government doesn’t latch onto this and offer companies incentives to take on and train graduates or offer a monitored graduate internship scheme (jobsbridge wasn’t monitored and you had to be on dole for 3 months to join it). You have to go abroad for most entry level graduate roles. People get there education here avail of grants and good education system then end up paying into the tax net of another country
Or refusing a client of mine payment. Even though he did everything and told him he wasn’t getting paid so told him to eat grass.
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At a job fair in dundalk this is what people think of the governments job creation!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=bMbo2Gwa6WY
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