URGENT NEED FOR NEW JOBS PLAN

12 Dec 2011

A major investment and job creation programme is urgently required to combat rising unemployment, the Irish Congress of Trade Unions has said.
The call for a new jobs plan came as official figures confirmed that the number of people at work continues to decline as unemployment increases.
Congress Chief Economist Paul Sweeney said Government now had to focus all its energy on getting people back to work.
"We urgently need a major new jobs plan from Government. The continued imposition of austerity is decimating the economy and the recent budget will only serve to make the situation worse. It will cost us more jobs.
"The latest figures confirm a very worrying and dangerous trend, with long-term unemployment rising to 56.3% from 47% last year. That is quite shocking and indicative of the huge damage being done to both economy and society by current policies," Mr Sweeney said.
"We need a major programme of investment and job creation. In advance of Budget 2012 Congress put forward a number of proposals about how jobs could be created and how investment initiatives could be funded. While Government has expressed interest in attracting investment from private pension funds, as we suggested, they now need to move on initiatives like this as a matter of urgency.
"There will be a huge social and economic price to pay if we fail to act now," Mr Sweeney said.