Taoiseach accused of encouraging young to emigrate

Taoiseach Enda Kenny has been accused of encouraging young people to emigrate following budget measures which will see dole cut for those under 26 years of age.

Dole amounts will be reduced by one-third for new young claimants from Jan, cutting payments by €44 in many cases.

SIPTU led a protest outside the Dáil yesterday claiming Mr Kenny was essentially offering a bag-packing service for young people, who would be left with no choice but to emigrate.

Sinn Féin deputy leader Mary Lou McDonald queried whether the government had received legal advice about targeting the dole payments specifically of younger people.

The Dublin Central TD said: “Emigration is now the official employment policy for young people. A cut of up to one-third in the jobseekers’ allowance for people under 25 years sends an unmistakable message to young people that the Government regards them as a burden rather than as the future of the country.”

Both she and Mr Kenny clashed during a debate about welfare payments and training.

Ms McDonald questioned the logic in reducing dole when those out of work faced limited little choice on what work experience to take up.

“The half-baked, Mickey Mouse schemes the Government comes up with to massage the live register figures will not cut it. People want real jobs and decent work,” she said.

She also claimed the government was taking money from young people on FÁS courses.

“It has hit apprentices as it insists they must pay a registration fee.”

Under the new rules in Jan, a lower €100 dole rate will be extended to new entrants aged under 25. It previously applied only to those aged under 22. In addition, those aged 25 will get a reduced rate of €144, down from €188.

However, Mr Kenny claimed Sinn Féin wanted to keep young people on the dole queues.

He said the coalition were creating 3,000 jobs a month and that it was important to incentivise people to get work. More than 65% of those who joined the state-backed JobBridge scheme found full employment, he said.

But Independent Wicklow TD Stephen Donnelly said: “This cut displays a complete misunderstanding of the unemployment challenge faced by our youth and is not just bad economics but also discriminatory.

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“This is an issue of human rights. None of us would, I hope, come in here to state we will cut basic social protections to non-whites, women or Muslims, but this is exactly what the Government has done; it has targeted a group of people based on age.”