Council’s Gateways plan ‘slave labour’

A major row broke out after a member of Cork County Council accused his own authority of complying with a Fine Gael project which he labelled as being akin “to slave labour”.

Cllr Kevin O’Keeffe (FF) was reacting to news that as part of the so-called Gateways project, the Department of Social Protection is to force 110 people on the live register to work for 22 weeks with the council or have their benefits reduced.

He claimed the only extra money these people would get for working 17.5 hours a week with the council was €20 for travel expenses.