Fianna Fáil Jobs Spokesperson Dara Calleary has said the steady increase in long-term unemployment is a cause of serious concern and shows the current approach to tackling the jobs crisis is failing.
Deputy Calleary was reacting to the latest CSO figures showing stagnation in the Live Register figures, and a 3.3 per cent increase in long-term unemployment since this time last year. “We have yet to see any meaningful action from this Government on tackling the jobs crisis. Looking at these latest figures, showing there are now 189,857 people across the country stuck in long-term unemployment, people are wondering what happened to all of Fine Gael’s promises of creating tens of thousands of jobs every year?”
The Deputy said: “It has been clear for some time that the Government’s approach to tackling the jobs crisis is failing. The Live Register figures remain virtually stagnant, with any tiny decrease more than offset by the numbers forced to go abroad for work. Meanwhile, the number of people falling into the trap of long-term unemployment is increasing every single month.”
The Fianna Fáil Deputy added: “Early this year the Government caught great headlines after announcing a special Cabinet meeting to discuss the jobs crisis. This did not result in one single new policy, nor was there any recognition of the need for a new approach. The aim of the meeting, apparently, was to discuss a co-ordinated approach between each Minister’s departments on job creation. And yet since then, the Taoiseach, the Finance Minister, and other members of the Cabinet have systematically rejected a series of Parliamentary Questions from Fianna Fáil on what each department is doing in the area of job creation.”
“Fine Gael and Labour are in Government nearly two years now. It is high time that the spin is replaced by action that results in real jobs in communities across the country,” he concluded.
