The latest live register figures for Castlebar shows another unemployment rise in the county town with very little political debate happening in relation to stemming the flow. That’s according to Labour councillor Harry Barrett.
“The numbers signing on in Castlebar has now risen to nearly 1,900 people and this shows the awful extent of the economic downturn on the town,” Cllr Barrett said. “This is broken down into 1,225 males and 629 females seeking benefit. I believe these figures may even underestimate the extent of unemployment throughout the town because of a number of categories of unemployed people who are being denied benefits.
“One of the issues that has arisen in recent months is the treatment of self-employed people in Castlebar when they lose their jobs. Self-employed people don't generally qualify for Jobseeker's Benefit so they must apply instead for the means-tested Jobseekers Allowance. However, current rules mean that the deciding officer must look at the applicant's previous year's earnings to ascertain their means. In the current economic climate that is just ridiculous. The pace of the economic downturn means that in most cases last year's earnings are no reflection of a person's current means. Deciding officers are allowed to exercise some flexibility but there is ample evidence that this is not happening in many cases.”
Cllr Barrett has called on Fianna Fáil TDs in the county to pressurise the Minister to issue new guidelines to all deciding officers to ensure that jobseekers in genuine need of support get it.
“We must now put the issue of unemployment to the forefront of any agenda at local authority level. Businesses must be protected, the issue of rates and levies on business must be addressed. In addition, property owners must be realistic in terms of lease arrangements. In other towns property owners are taking a percentage of the take rather than a set rental amount. However, only the Government can act on another major cost. The issue of Employers’ PRSI must be looked at as a way of reducing costs on already stretched businesses,” Cllr Barrett concluded.
