Social rights groups have turned up the heat on the Government, demanding some budget cuts be overturned.

Young people are more likely to emigrate if the Jobseekers' Allowance is cut in tomorrow's Budget.

Core social welfare rates will be maintained in the budget, the social protection minister has said.

The government has been urged to resist demands from the IMF that areas such as the old age pension and child benefit be targeted in the upcoming budget.

Ireland’s long-term unemployed now account for almost half of the country’s dole queues, despite the number of new people signing on stabilising.

The Irish National Organisation for the Unemployed (INOU) is calling on the Government not to cut social welfare any further in December's budget.

The Government is not doing enough to promote employment at a time when massive job losses are being announced around the country, according to the Irish National Organisation of the Unemployed.

A leading agency which assists people out of work has said the long-term unemployment rate has reached a crisis point.

REPRESENTATIVES for the unemployed have added to criticisms of job training courses and welfare services that were made in an alarming report on unemployment.

THERE was a mixed reaction to the jobs initiative from the unemployed, unions, social justice groups and opposition politicians.

The Irish National Organistion for the Unemployed has described as "utter rubbish" suggestions made by the European Commission mission chief to Ireland that the phasing out of social welfare payments for the long-term unemployed should be introduced.

Job creation needs to be at the heart of any work the incoming Government does, according to the Irish National Organisation of the Unemployed.

THE ranks of the long-term unemployed have grown to over 140,000, the Irish workforce’s highest ever.

MINISTER for Social Protection Éamon Ó Cuív last night accused welfare campaigners of “scare tactics”, at the same time as the Government was accused of the same charge over its plans to force people on benefits onto work incentive schemes.

THE Government was urged yesterday to put as much effort into tackling unemployment as the banking crisis as a minister pledged the number of unemployed would fall by around 30,000 in the coming months.

The Irish National Organisation for the Uunemployed has said the Government needs to "pay more than lip-service to the unemployment crisis".

The Government is being warned that it must produce a strategy to get the unemployed back to work as soon as possible.

A TASKFORCE set up last January to tackle spiralling unemployment, and which has only met once, has no plans to meet again and is essentially “defunct”, it has emerged.

A group representing the unemployed has today demanded that TDs and Senators to reject the Social Welfare Bill being debated today.

There has been more reaction from interest groups around the country.

GOVERNMENT and Fás strategies to tackle unemployment are “fragmented, piecemeal” and “lack any vision on how the future jobs market is likely to be structured”, a leading employment expert has warned.

Unemployment is the major crisis affecting the country and needs to be addressed as such, the Irish National Organisation for the Unemployed (INOU) said today.

Ireland's unemployment rate has now hit over 440,000.

Leading NGOs and trade unions have teamed up to lobby against potential cuts to social welfare payments and the minimum wage, it emerged today.

The Irish National Organisation of the Unemployed have said that the poor are being asked to pay for the economic crisis after the publication of An Bord Snip's report yesterday.

ALL social welfare payments should be slashed by 5% as part of swingeing cuts aimed at saving €1.8 billion across social and family affairs payments.

OVER 70,000 of the 413,000 people now registered as unemployed are experiencing delays with their social welfare applications, it emerged last night.

The Irish National Organisation of the Unemployed has called for urgent and large-scale action to address the unemployment crisis.

The Irish National Organisation of the Unemployed is calling for unemployment to be placed at the top of the political agenda.

The National Executive Committee of the INOU have refuted calls for cuts to social welfare payments in next Tuesday’s emergency Budget.

The Irish National Organisation of the Unemployed says it is extremely concerned about the rate at which people are losing their jobs.

The Irish National Organisation for the Unemployed says the provision of training and education must be a priority for people finding themselves out of work due to the recession.

The Irish National Organisation for the Unemployed is today predicting that unemployment will exceed the 7% mark.

A CAMPAIGN group for the unemployed has criticised the crackdown on electronic dole payments as “using a sledgehammer to crack a nut” and contrary to recent government policy.

Changes to the welfare payment system will force people to change the way they manage their finances, according to the Irish National Organisation of the Unemployed.

The Irish National Organisation of the Unemployed (INOU) is disappointed that the lowest rate of Social Welfare has increased by €12 in the 2008 Budget.

A SLOWDOWN in the construction industry was blamed yesterday for a four-year high in the rate of unemployment.

THE country’s main support organisation for the unemployed yesterday cast doubts on EU figures suggesting Ireland has the lowest level of unemployment for young people in the eurozone.

DESPITE the unprecedented wealth of the Celtic Tiger phenomenon — now a dim and distant memory as industry declines and thousands of jobs are lost — the stark reality is that poverty remains a dark blot on the conscience of society.

Unemployment fell by 4,800 between the third and fourth quarters of 2006; and declined by 2,600 so far in 2007, according to figures released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) today.

Further reform of the Irish labour market is required to meet future job requirements, Social Affairs Minister Seamus Brennan said today.

IRELAND’S female unemployment rate is now the lowest of all the 25 European Union states, a new statistical study shows.

Action must be taken to curb the rising levels of unemployment among young people, it was warned today.

The Irish National Organisation for the Unemployed has expressed concerned at the growing level of joblessness among young men.