Pat Treanor criticises reduction of funds for community employment

Clones Sinn Féin Councillor, Pat Treanor, has criticised the cutting of funding for the community employment and jobs initiative schemes in last weeks budget.

Speaking during the weekend Cllr. Treanor said:

“The announcement by the Minister for Finance of €50million of savings to be made in the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment will have ramifications for the Community employment sector and indeed for social welfare.

“The proposed measure to reduce allowances for community employment and the jobs initiative will have the serious repercussions of undermining the valuable contribution being made by these schemes and will dissuade people from taking them up, keeping them on social welfare.

“Sinn Féin believes that more attention should be devoted to the development of the Irish social economy and both the Jobs Initiative Scheme and the Community Employment Scheme are central to this. The social economy transcends the often exploitative relationship between worker and employer and encourages empowerment, collective approaches to production and ecological stability.

“It is increasingly recognised that the social economy has an important role to play in society particularly by enhancing the economy within communities suffering social and economic exclusion. The social economy is necessary to build a strong, stable and egalitarian economy and Sinn Féin oppose vehemently any moves to reduce allowances for the Jobs Initiative and Community Employment schemes being run through FÁS. These schemes are productive both for the community and those who are unable to find work.

“Reducing allowances for the Jobs Initiative and Community Employment schemes is short-sighted and will be detrimental.

“For years Jobs Initiative has played a significantly important role in the lives of droves of people – it has given them confidence, it has given them access to training, self development, and allowed them to experience working in the mainstream when all other options were closed under the free market.

“Jobs Initiative and Community Employment workers have become an invaluable support in the communities they work in. These schemes have become the only lifeline to employment that many people, especially those in the disability sector, can access. To reduce these allowances will seriously undermine the work of thousands of people across this State, including countless in County Monaghan.”

Savage budget from an economically illiterate Government – Ó Caoláin

Sinn Féin Dáil leader Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin TD has described today’s budget as a savage budget from an economically illiterate Government.
Speaking this evening Deputy Ó Caoláin said:
“This is a savage budget, an economically illiterate budget and a budget that attacks low and middle income earners.
“The Minister told us the worst is over. Tell that to the families whose Child Benefit has been cut tonight. Tell it to the unemployed young people whose welfare has been cut by half.
“This Budget is anti-children, anti-young people and anti-jobs.
“The most vulnerable are being punished for the sins of the very wealthy and their political cronies in this Government who have wrecked the Irish economy.
“This Budget imposes prescription charges for medical card holders, it increases the threshold for the Drug Payment Scheme, meaning sick people will have to pay more for their medicines.
“Not only is there no jobs strategy in this Budget, it is anti-jobs because it takes many millions out of the pockets of ordinary families and out of the economy.
“The Minister spoke of the last big push and a return to growth. He is deluding himself and trying to delude the people. We have over 423,000 people unemployed, an increase of over 146,000 in one year. Many of these are young people and he is cutting their payments to €100 per week.
“There was an alternative approach for this Government to take which was put forward by Sinn Féin. It was an alternative which would have seen the economy on the road to recovery based on fair and equitable measures. Instead what we got was a savage budget from an economically illiterate Government that can only lead to further ruin.”