Mary Hanafin to implement 1980s policies
By Primal Sneeze ~ July 14th, 2008. Filed under: Economy, Education, Politicians, Politics, Work.
Back in the 80s things were tough. Times were rotten and Robin Hood was a state-of-the-art industrial estate. Christy Moore sang Peter Hames’ Ordinary Man and stirred anger in us all. Countless thousands were unemployed.
That’s not totally correct – they were indeed counted. Counted and parsed by gender, age, education, you name it. They would have been parsed by sexual orientation if there were more than one in Ireland of the 80’s. The headlines every day gave numbers and percentages. A reduction in unemployment of 0.1% was good news. 50 jobs created was great news. A significant drop in the live register.
Of course the noughties are not the same as the eighties. Or so the Tánaiste, Mary Coughlan, tells us. She warns against using the policies of the 1980s to deal with the economic downturn. The economy is profoundly different now.
I remember some of those policies. After six months on the dole people were called into the social welfare office. Young women were offered secretarial courses. They would learn how to answer phones and type. Young men were offered FÁS (AnCO) courses. They would learn how to cut planks and tighten nuts. Refuse and the payments would be stopped.
While many benefited from these courses and secured work because of them, what was more important was they were no longer unemployed. They were in training. A significant drop in the live register.
Others found no one wanted their secretarial services or their planks cut. Some emigrated. Some stayed and were sent on further courses. A significant drop in the live register.
Ireland boasted the best young phone-answering nut-tightening (potential) workforce in the world.
But the situation is different now. Different measures are called for. Minister Mary Hanafin has declared young people on the dole are to be directed towards gaining additional skills and training following a sharp rise in youth unemployment. They will be pointed towards the “back to education allowance scheme”.
The BTEA scheme provides second and third level education supports. The second level encompasses the Junior Certificate, Leaving Certificate, Post Leaving Certificate (PLC), City and Guilds Certificate or a National Diploma plus third level Foundation or Access courses. i.e. FÁS courses for the noughties.
The third level supports cover university, and equivalent, degree programmes and postgraduate diplomas. I suppose this is how the policies and supports differ from the eighties – the third level option.
Or are they that different really? The minister’s tone is quite threatening. Officials at social welfare offices will spend the summer identifying young people who are eligible to enter education or training schemes in the autumn. It sounds to me they will be told they are being sent to learn the noughties’ equivalent of answering phones whether they like it or not.
What if a young woman, recently made redundant, would benefit from undertaking a university degree? What the Minister doesn’t say is that a) the application deadline for these has passed and b) that to be eligible for third level support one has to be unemployed for 12 months (not the 6 she mentions).
What if a young man, already with a degree, would benefit from a masters programme? Even if out of work for 12 months he can’t do one under this scheme as it only covers degrees and diplomas.
Will these young people be pushed into some City and Guilds course whether or not it will enhance their prospects? I have a sneaky feeling they will be. A significant drop in the live register.
That suitable third and fourth level education could boost these individuals’ careers and grow the knowledge economy the government preach about so much is not the policy here – knocking numbers off the live register is.
your blog has just greeted me personally, and all i was doing was dropping by to comment on how inappropriate a recession post is when i am this hung over. i am now hung over and freaked out.
Some excellent points Primal. My own parents emigrated in the eighties. Honestly never thought I’d be living in Ireland again. Funny how life has it’s own plans, here I am in my own little recession.
I wonder how much the live register jumped since Friday and the supposed ten thousand buildres or so are not unemployed. I reckon not much as most of them were collecting anyhow. Mad I tell you.
I’ve never liked the word “scheme” as politicians use it. You know that scheming is exactly what went into it.
@Rosie – Celebrating the Feast Day of Mother Mary Achinghead are we?
@Deborah – Get ready for plenty more massaging of figures. We may even be told that that 10 thousand were just out sick or at a wedding the day they counted and not really unemployed at all.
@problemchildbride – Connivance might be a more appropriate word.
Or “con” for short.
In Australia there are young people who are unemployed, whose parents and grandparents are or were unemployed. Three generations of unemployed under one roof is not uncommon. Governments always stayed away from the issue because unemployed people on the DoL, as we call it, constitutes a significant part of the voters. Measures, systems, solutions are needed but it is not easy as the social security is a tricky area. When you try to “help” too much, you open it to all sorts of abuse and exploits. But I think encouraging skills training and even returning to education (government support, grants, scholarships etc) is a great idea, IF done the right way. I want the Australian lazy asses to be sent to Turkey for a year and see what it is like having to work for a living, in the real sense of living, that is staying alive…
Oups I strayed a little there, but it’s all about social security and government services to eradicate employment isn’t it?
@problemchildbride – Yeah, con works – if that’s appropriate phraseology to use on this post.
@gayé – IF done the right way. Yes, but also if done for the right reasons – not just to fudge the unemployment figures as was done in Ireland in the 80s and seems to be planned this time too.
Ah yes, the eighties. AnCo / Fas / CE Schemes, hospital charges introduced and wards closed, lots of ‘rationalisation’ of services but, critically, reasonable local authority housing provision and moderate rents in the private sector.
I’m looking forward to seeing how they figure out how to get payment from an unemployed populace for the services that are now funded by stealth tax charges.
Hmmmm – Vowed I wouldn’t talk about this recession thing and it might go away but it seems not – Whatever about the education schemes it does strike me that the only way to slow down unemployment is for the unions to get real and stop demanding pay rises where there is no money to fund them. This myth of wealthy employers (I am married to one) and exploited employees needs to be nailed once and for all. If we continue to screw the employers they will have no option but to shut up shop! The choice really is going to be job on same or less money or no job!
I was one of the ones to drop off the register in the late 80’s by emigrating but I expected nothing else as it was gloom and doom for an eternity before that.
I feel bad for the kids graduating now who assumed it would easy pickings downhill all the way. In a way I guess it will be, but downhill to the dole!
@Conan Drumm – Very interesting point about stealth taxes. I hadn’t thought of that. It will be very interesting indeed.
@paddyanglican – There will certainly be a lot of screwing going on. In the financial sense, of course. It’s the screwing around with the figures by the government that annoys me most.
@Quickroute – These kids won’t know what hit them. It will be ages before they even comprehend the situation they are in. Looking at the waste in this pic they haven’t realised yet. (Sorry – poor pic)