Govt urged to stick to unemployment targets

The Government must stick to its target of eliminating long unemployment by 2007, it was claimed tonight.

The commitment was made in the National Anti-Poverty Strategy and will form a key part of the forthcoming talks on a new partnership agreement.

The Irish National Organisation for the Unemployed (INOU), which today voted to enter the new talks, said there were still around 28,000 long-term unemployed people.

“It looks unlikely we’ll ever get to 0% by 2007 but we mustn’t let the Government off the hook,” said general secretary Eric Conroy.

The discussions on the successor to the Sustaining Progress agreement are due to take place over the coming months.

Mr Conroy said the INOU would be pressing for the removal of minimum wage earners from the tax net.

This group had been taken out in last December’s budget but then fell back in again due to the increase in the minimum wage from €7 to €7.65 in May.

“The Government must maintain the principle of keeping the minimum wage out of the tax net,” said Mr Conroy.

He said it was also important to tackle youth unemployment and to remove the unemployment traps.

“If someone is on social welfare and their partner does a few extra hours work part time, it can ct their secondary benefits such as medical cards and rent allowance.”