200,000 now long term unemployed.

520 people lost job EVERY DAY since Cowen & Coughlan took over

Brian Cowen and Mary Coughlan are presiding over the worst job implosion ever experienced in Ireland, with long-term unemployment now at critical levels, according to Fine Gael Labour Innovation Spokeswoman Deirdre Clune TD.

Warning of a summer of discontent as the live register reached 423,400 in July, Deputy Clune said 520 people have lost their job every day since the Taoiseach and Tánaiste took office.

Speaking after the publication of the latest live register figures from the CSO (pdf 231KB), Deputy Clune said: ‘Ireland has never witnessed a job implosion on this scale. And while Fianna Fáil’s inept response to this crisis is worrying enough, it’s terrifying that the Government doesn’t even realise we have a crisis’.

This week the Tánaiste produced a half-baked job subsidy policy which, at very best and if entirely successful, would stop the current jobs haemorrhage for seven and a half weeks.

Yet no-one in Government has realised that Ireland now has a significant number of long-term unemployed, with more than 200,000 people on the dole for more than a year. Long-term unemployment is much harder to tackle, but so far the Government hasn’t even started.

Unless this is addressed effectively, and addressed soon, we will have a serious long-term unemployment problem for years to come.

Deputy Clune said Fine Gael is the only Party to produce a costed and effective set of proposals to protect and create jobs. They include the NewERA measures to create 100,000 new jobs from investments in green energy, broadband and water, as well as proposals to protect 80,000 jobs in small & medium enterprises.