ICTU: Country needs to learn lessons

The Irish Congress of Trade Unions says Ireland should learn lessons from history to overcome our current economic woes.

At the TEEU conference in Co Laois yesterday, the group outlined a 'Blueprint for Recovery' which calls on the government to freeze austerity for a year in an effort to boost economic growth and create jobs.

ICTU General Secretary David Begg says being told we are the best pupil in the class when it comes to meeting bailout targets is cold comfort for families who have lost loved ones through emigration.

“In the 1930s when we had the Great Depression, there were very large numbers of people unemployed. We have to realise we can’t have a lost generation of people. We need to give people some hope.

“Simply speaking this is a cost that is too hard to bear.”