A lot of people have been left disappointed by what was announced by the Government this week regarding getting the country back to work. There is no doubt that what was finally released and announced was very different from that which was promised during the heat of the General Election, but then Government actions are always tempered by the reality of power.
There is much concern over the fact that the pension funds are being raided to fund this initiative which is doubtful will itself create one decent job., However, this should not make us lose sight of the fact that this is merely the grassy middle on the long boreen to recovery. The Government was never going to come out with radical proposals that had people flocking from the dole office to shiny new jobs, and a good job of lowering expectations was undertaken by both parties in the build up to last Tuesday’s announcement.
There is no doubt that this is but a sticking plaster on the gaping wound of unemployment, but in the battle against infections, sticking plasters have their role too. And that is why we should welcome the initiative, because it is the first positive proposal for a long time in this country.
It will get thousands of people out of the zones they have been occupying since losing their jobs or leaving school. It will prevent a culture of idleness setting in. It will see many many communities get work done that would otherwise not have been undertaken.
It is also making us appreciate the value of what we have around us in the shape of tourist attraction and the move to cut VAT on all things touristy will get us all thinking about what we can do to avail of this offer. The reinstatement of the minimum wage, the cutting of the airport tax, the halving of some PRSI, are all designed to get us to change the way employers and business think, to force them to be more innovative and creative when designing the way they want their businesses to go, and in deciding how many people they want to employ to achieve these goals.
While it is easy to pick holes in this plan, it would be the wrong thing we do. Ireland needs to get back to work and in doing that it is appropriate we start doing that in the industry which shows us off to the rest of the world. Now there is an onus on employers to reinstate the old-fashioned values of service and value for money.
Shop assistants should be told to be polite and competent, waiting staff should become like their predecessors and customers should be treated with respect . In order for this plan to work, we need to get back the type of decent honest to goodness tourism industry that we once had, before we had shiny new hotels and treble shot caffe mocha lattes.
There will be more to come from this Government in terms of helping small businesses get credit. There had to be some pain for this initiative because the people who own Ireland Inc told the Government that it had to cost the State nothing. However, if it works and if those plans that follow it work, then there is light at the end of the tunnel for Ireland.
Everyone is feeling the pain, but we can get through this in a few years. Getting us back to work is the start.
