Bertie Ahern
Ceist:3 Mr. B. Ahern asked the Taoiseach whether the interdepartmental Strategy Group on Employment and Unemployment meets regularly; and, if so, the current position on the activities of the strategy group. [19416/96]
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Interdepartmental Strategy Group on Employment and Unemployment.
The Government established the interdepartmental Strategy Group on Employment and Unemployment, SGEU, in October 1995. The purpose of the group is to prepare for Government approval and oversee the implementation of a comprehensive strategy with clearly defined objectives to deal with key aspects of the unemployment problem. The group consists of officials from the relevant Departments. Since October 1995 the group has met 14 times and has submitted four progress reports to the Government during that period.
The work of the group contributed to the framing of the employment and training measures included in the 1996 budget. The group is also involved in reviewing the implementation of those measures.
The work of the SGEU provided a context for the work of the CSO in the undertaking of the recent exercise comparing the Labour Force Survey and live register figures. In view of the results of that exercise the strategy group has been instructed to identify ways to enhance the flow of information to support the operation of labour market support and income maintenance policies.
Is the Taoiseach satisfied with the work of this group? Can he suggest how we might improve the position? After five or six years of high economic growth in ideal circumstances of low inflation and low interest rates and while employment has increased its effect on the live register has been almost nil. I raised this matter on the Order of Business this morning and the Taoiseach tried to claim credit for the Labour Force Survey results for the past two years. The figures up to April 1995 reveal an increase in employment of 57,000 jobs. Apart from the fact that only three months of that period coincides with the Taoiseach's time in office, according to the Government's sponsored Labour Force Survery results announced yesterday the number of new jobs created has fallen by 22 per cent. Is the working group on employment bringing forward real strategies in various sectors? If it is, what are they? I have seen the proposals on local employment initiatives, but what was provided in the budget has created little or no jobs. The condition the economy is in should create jobs. While jobs are being created, the number is not anywhere near what it should be. The Labour Force Survey results published yesterday for the year up to last April reveal that the number of new jobs created had fallen to 45,000 and there is no reason to believe that pattern did not continue during the past six months. Is the group working on strategies in particular areas and what proposals can we expect to emanate from it?
As I told the Deputy this morning, approximately 100,000 more people, men and women, are working than when I became Taoiseach. I would be the last to make the claim that this is exclusively due to any individual initiative, person or political party, but it is an important fact that bears testimony to the success of our economy and people. Of course, problems remain, one of which is long-term unemployment at the core of which is the problem of distribution. There is the problems of inequality of opportunity. The employment rate for those who have a leaving certificate or lower qualification. is very low, while it is lower for those who have a leaving certificate or lower qualification.
It is important to bear in mind that work is something other people pay for. They pay for it because they want the service that is to be provided. In an increasingly sophisticated marketplace each individual must improve the quality of the service he or she can provide in return for the income he or she hopes to achieve and receive. That requires investment not only by the State but by individuals and families in improving educational qualification. While we have moved from a position of 30 years ago where somewhere in the region of 30 per cent of our people sat the leaving certificate successfully to a point where 80 per cent sit it successfully now — we can congratulate ourselves on that — nevertheless 20 per cent still do not sit it successfully. They are the people about whom we should be most worried because they have the least prospect.
If the Deputy wishes, I could list from my brief a number of initiatives the Government is taking in this area to improve the functioning of the labour market, but the cardinal fact is that, as a society, individuals and families, we need to recognise the importance of attaining better skills and education throughout life. One should never believe one's job is safe and should always recognise that one must constantly upgrade one's skills. Those are the factors that are essential to success in this area.
I do not want the Taoiseach to list off all that he can do. Nobody is arguing about educational requirements or the value of education. I asked the Taoiseach to outline the strategy the Government is following. We have told our people for a decade that if we had low inflation and low interest rates, balanced our budget and had a current budget surplus we would be able to generate jobs, but practically 200,000 people are unemployed. What strategy has this group, which calls itself a strategy group, put forward? What are its proposals? I should not have to ask about them, we should know what they are. A document has not been published by the group and its proposals are not in the public domain. Why is that so? Why do we not know the strategy the Government is following in this area? Why should I have to table a parliamentary question to find out about this strategy? Is it hidden? Does the Taoiseach not want anybody to to know about it? Would it be a bad idea if employers or trade unions knew that the Government had a strategy?
The Taoiseach cannot get agreement.
It is invisible.
The strategy the Government is following has resulted in 100,000 more people at work than when I became Taoiseach less than two years ago.
There are 600 more unemployed in Dundalk in one year.
What I said is the most eloquent testimony anybody could seek to the success of existing policies. The Deputy seems to have doubts about the policy of low inflation, fiscal responsibility and so forth in terms of its impact on employment, but he should not have any such doubts. Those policies pursued by successive Governments have yielded the result to which I referred. I have been fortunate to be Taoiseach at a time when dramatic increases in the number of people at work has occurred.
A 1 per cent increase could not be described as dramatic.
The Taoiseach is believing his own PR.
It is also the case that substantial numbers of people have not found employment and I have identified key issues that need to be addressed, education and training. However, there are many for whom a disincentive to take up employment exists because of social welfare requirements. That is why the child dependant allowance has been extended for 13 weeks after people take up employment and leave social welfare so they do not have a sudden reduction in income. That is why the back-to-work allowance was introduced, which has resulted in 13,000 additional people at work. It is also the reason we reduced employers' PRSI and introduced allowances and bands so that employers will have a greater incentive to employ more people. That is also why we introduced the whole time jobs option for those who have been two or more years unemployed so that they can continue to achieve benefit while in full-time employment because they are particularly disadvantaged.
How many are on it?
We are also aware of young people who do not actively seek employment in the early years after leaving school and we have introduced a compulsory registration system with FAS for those between 18 and 19 years of age who are long-term unemployed. The Government has also introduced a series of other labour market measures designed to tilt the balance in favour of employment and against unemployment and in favour of taking on additional workers rather than reducing the workforce. We will continue to initiate such measures, but it is important to make the point that employment depends on the demand for the services provided by the person seeking employment. It is the obligation of society and of every individual to upgrade the quality of the services our potential employees can provide to the world.
Will the Taoiseach send me a list of all the reports published and all the committees established by the Government and the cost of same for the Department of the Taoiseach, the Office of the Tánaiste, the Department of Enterprise and Employment and the Department of Social Welfare? I do not want to table separate questions on this matter. One of the reasons there is no clear strategy is that there are too many Ministers meddling in this issue. I have a pile of glossy reports in my office which were produced at considerable cost. I ask the Taoiseach to send me a list in the next week.
The Deputy should rely on the research services in the Oireachtas Library which will provide such information.
I want to know the cost.
The Taoiseach said the strategic committee had devised two job initiatives, Jobstart and Workplace, which were the cornerstone of the budget last January. It is amazing that ten months later the number of employees taken on through these programmes is approximately 300 or 400, yet the target was 5,000. Why have these initiatives not been successful? Does the Taoiseach think they are still a good idea?
As regards initiatives, one needs a series of small measures to deal with particular problems in the labour market. No one solution is applicable to all families. This applies to all parts of the country, to all skill levels and to both genders. We need a comprehensive approach to tilt the balance in favour of employment and against unemployment. The Deputy should not dismiss small initiatives that may be of particular relevance only to a small number of unemployed people.
The Taoiseach said they were the cornerstone of policy.
I also mentioned the extension of the child dependant allowance and the increased numbers on the back-to-work allowance.
I asked the Taoiseach about Jobstart and Workplace.
The Deputy's shorthand, which is commendable, may not be as quick as the pace at which I was speaking. I will understand if she did not note all the things I said.
The Taoiseach is boring.
The Deputy is in a soporific mood this afternoon.
I am not.
She has a tendency to affect an attitude of boredom when in fact she may be interested in what I am saying.
What about the strategy?
Before the partitionist arrives.
The Taoiseach did not answer my questions about Jobstart and Workplace.
Has the Taoiseach's interdepartmental strategy group looked at the inequities in the various regions which Ms Aileen Hickey highlighted recently in an article in the Sunday Business Post?
That matter should be looked at but there are inequities in every part of the country. There are zones of high unemployment in urban areas and in other areas.
That is the end of questions to the Taoiseach for today. We now proceed to deal with questions nominated for priority to the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry.