05/05/2011

Social Justice Ireland 'To Create 100,000 Jobs'

Social Justice Ireland has called on Government to create a Part-Time Job Opportunities Programme aimed at taking 100,000 people off the live register over a three-year period.

The plan was successfully piloted in six different parts of the country during Ireland’s last period of high unemployment (1994-98).

Social Justice say the scale of unemployment is now so high that more radical initiatives are required particularly if long-term unemployment is to be reduced.

They added that while initiatives focused on improving job creation and protecting jobs that already exist are very welcome and necessary they should not be allowed create an illusion that Ireland’s unemployment crisis will be resolved in the period immediately ahead.

The proposal is contained in Social Justice Ireland's latest Policy Briefing which addresses the issues of Work, Jobs and Unemployment.

The proposed Part-Time Job Opportunities programme would create 100,000 part-time jobs for the unemployed, an participants would work the number of hours required to earn the equivalent of their social welfare payment and a small top-up. Working on these jobs participants would be allowed to take up other paid employment in their spare time without incurring loss of benefits and would be liable to tax in the normal way if their income was sufficient to bring them into the tax net.

The briefing also contains a range of proposals to address issues such as the 'working poor' and 'at risk' jobs.

(BMcN/KMcA)

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