Redundancies rise by 142%

A total of 49,009 people have been made redundant so far this year, an increase of 142% on the same period in 2008, according to new figures released today by the Department of Enterprise, Trade & Employment.

An additional 6,350 people were made redundant under the statutory redundancy scheme in July, compared to 6,806 in June and more than 8,000 in May.

Business representatives condemned the figures and called for government action to halt the decline.

“The jobs crisis is very real and the government must take immediate action to create opportunities for people,” said Patricia Callan, director of the Small Firms’ Association (SFA), who called the figures “staggering in their immensity”.

“It is vitally important that we don’t allow a whole new generation to be lost to long-term unemployment; instead we should allow them to maintain their skill base and add to the competitiveness of smaller enterprises by matching the two on mainstream work placement programmes,” she added.

The redundancy figures were meanwhile described as ‘dismal’ by ISME, the Irish Small & Medium Enterprises Association, which called for the introduction of a National Employment Task Force.

“The latest figures confirm our worst fears on job losses which will take more than a generation to reverse,” said ISME Chief Executive Mark Fielding.

“Unfortunately, as the Government holidays, the dole queues lengthen.”