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ContentsIntroduction 4

PART 1Getting in Touch 6

What is “We’re Not Leaving”? 7

PART 2Youth Charter 11

Fee Hikes and Grant Cuts 15

Forced Emigration 21

Housing 27

Internship Culture 41

• JobBridge 45

Mental Health 54

Precarious Work 59

Youth Unemployment 67

Please Note:This edition of We’re Not Leaving’s Branch Pack was made available on Saturday the 9th of August 2014. As the Branch Pack is intended to be a living document, there may be an updated edition available. Please check WereNotLeaving.com/BranchPack to view/download the most recently released edition.

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IntroductionWe’re Not Leaving is a campaign driven by young precariousworkers, young trade unionists, the young unemployed and students fighting against the forced emigration of young people from Ireland.

The aim of this document is to provide information for those already active in the campaign as well as for those who are thinking of gettinginvolvedorwhowouldjustliketoknowmoreaboutWe’reNot Leaving.

Part1listssomevitalbasicinformationaboutthecampaign:whoweare,howtofindus,whythecampaignbegan,etc.

Part2givesmoreinformationaboutthedifferentareasthatWe’reNot Leaving have prioritised. It includes a copy of the Youth Charter, a list of demands agreed at theYoungPeople’sAssembly heldinLibertyHallon9thNovember2013.Thissectionalso includesseveral researchdocumentsput togetherbyWe’reNotLeavingactivists on each of the topics listed in the Youth Charter. It is hopedthatthesedocumentswillallowallofustohaveabetterunderstandingofthevarioustopicsandtobemoreconfidentindiscussing them.

Wehope that this informationpackwill be a ‘livingdocument’,thatitwillbeadaptedandchangedasmoreinformationbecomesavailableandasthecampaigngrows.

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PART ONE

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Getting In TouchNational Campaign:

Website: WereNotLeaving.comE-Mail: WNLIreland@gmail.comFacebook: Facebook.com/WereNotLeavingYouTube: YouTube.com/WereNotLeavingIRETwitter: @WNLIrelandonTwitter

Dublin Branch:

E-Mail: WNLIreland@gmail.comFacebook: Facebook.com/WereNotLeaving

Cork Branch:

E-Mail: WNLIreland@gmail.comFacebook: Facebook.com/WereNotLeavingCork

Galway Branch:

E-Mail: WNLGalway@gmail.comFacebook: Facebook.com/WereNotLeavingGalwayTwitter: @WNLGalwayYouTube: YouTube.com/WNLGalway

North Kildare Branch:

E-Mail: WNLIreland@gmail.comFacebook: Facebook.com/WereNotLeavingMaynoothTwitter: @WNLNorthKildare

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What Is WNL?2013sawthecentenaryofthelargestindustrialdisputeinIreland’shistory:the1913strikeandlockout.Butnoteveryonewashappyaboutthewayitwasbeingcelebrating.Manypeoplewereangeredattheelitecommemorationsbygovernment,politicalpartiesanda union leadership that had sold out the working class.

The commemorations led to a group coming together, calling themseves “1913 Unfinished Business”. In its own words, 1913UnfinishedBusinessaimedto“reinvigorateclasspoliticsusingthecentenaryoftheDublinlock-outasaninspirationandfocalpoint”.

The group put together a podcast series, which dealt with the story of1913,women’sinvolvement,housing,themedia,NewUnionism,and Irish trade unionism today. The podcasts were released once a monththroughout2013.

1913UnfinishedBusiness’sfirstpublicoutingwasatanIrishCongressofTradeUnions(ICTU)marchinDublininFebruary2013.Abannerhadbeenmadesaying“UnfinishedBusiness1913–2013”withthefamous image of Larkin throwing his arms in the air, and was hung offtheHa’pennyBridge.

ThisledtoaconnectionwiththeDublinCouncilofTradeUnions(DCTU),whoaskedthegrouptoorganiseaYouthBlocattheMayDay March. A publicmeeting was called in preparation for themarch, entitled “We’reNot Leaving” inWynn’sHotel.Over 200people attended the meeting to show their anger at the policies of forced emigration.

It was through this work that “We’re Not Leaving” was developed anditwasdecidedtoholda“YoungPeople’sAssembly”tolookatsomeoftheissueswhichhadcomeoutofthepublicmeeting.Furtherpublicmeetingswereheld inGalwayandNorthKildare,looking at the issues relating to youth emigration.

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The Young People’s Assembly was held in Liberty Hall on 9thNovember2013.Anyonebetweentheagesof18and35waswelcometo attend. Through group discussions, the attendees together came up with a Youth Charter. The Youth Charter sets out the primary issuesthatWe’reNotLeavingcampaignson:precariousworkandcorporate internship culture; mental health; youth unemployment and forced emigration; housing; and fee hikes and grant cuts.

Precarious work and corporate internship culture

When it comes to precarious work and internship culture, a lot of We’re Not Leaving’s work involves highlighting the spin in governmentstatementsaboutjobcreationandlabouractivationschemes. As well as this, we’ve been involved in supportingprecarious workers.

We’re Not Leaving supported the Marks & Spencer’s workers when theywentonstriketoprotecttheirpayandconditionsinlate2013.WhiletheGalwaybranchhelpedtheformerworkersattheBentleynightclubonEyreSquaretoorganiseanddemandunpaidwages,in DublinWe’re Not Leaving has been taking part in solidarityactionswiththeParisBakeryworkerswhoareoccupyingtheiroldworkplace to ensure they receive unpaid wages.

We’re Not Leaving has organised workshops for students in IADT and at USI Congress on employment, employment rights, and trade unions.

The group has also been very active on internship culture, inparticular in campaigning against the JobBridge scheme. Wehavebeentryingtocountergovernment liesabout thescheme,tohighlighthowitaffectsyoungpeople,andhaveprotestedwithothergroupsagainstJobBridge.

Mental Health

Mental health is a vital issue in Ireland today, not just among young people. The Galway branch has been particularlyactive on this issue, campaigning against cuts to acute

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mental health services and working with other groups in the city. There is a plan to organise public talks in summer 2014.

Youth Unemployment and Forced Emigration

Theconnectionbetweenyouthunemploymentandemigrationhasbeenafocuspointthroughoutthecampaign.We’reNotLeavinghas worked steadily to undermine government assertions that youth emigration is a “lifestyle choice”. Alongside debating theissueonTVandradio,we’veorganisedpublicstuntstohighlightthe issues.

In response to Fáilte Ireland’s “Ireland Inspires” video, the Galway branchreleasedahighlysuccessfulresponseonYouTube.“BrandIreland” looked at unemployment, social welfare cuts, mental health, andyouthemigration.TheNorthKildaregroupalsoproducedashortfilmaboutsocialwelfarecutsforyoungpeople.

Housing

In Galway, the group attended a protest outside the City Hall to highlight the issue of housing to newly-elected councillors. The grouphasbeeninvolvedindocumentingevictionsinthecity.TheDublingroupisalsogettingmoreinvolvedinhousingactions.

Fee Hikes and Grant CutsWe’reNot Leaving has beenworking closelywith theUnion ofStudents in Ireland (USI) on access to education.

We’reNotLeavinghasalsobeeninvolvedineventswhichtakeineachofthecategories.Forexample,theDublinBranchorganised“MayDayFest2014”.ThereweretalksoneachoftheWe’reNotLeaving charter issues, aswell as others, such as LGBTQ in theworkplace, Direct Provision and migrant rights, and reproductive rights.

Wehopetocontinueourworkintheseareas,buildinglinkswithother groups as we do so.

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PART TWO

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Youth Charter

Across Ireland a generational gulf is forming. Years on from the bankguaranteeandtheimpositionofausterity,wenowliveinananti-democratic society that locksyoungpeopleout frombasicsocial protections and the decision-making processes that impact on our lives and futures. The result is common negative experiences – such as fee hikes & grant cuts, youth unemployment, forcedemigration, escalating mental health crises, corporate internship culture,lackofaffordablehousing,precariousandunpaidwork–beingaggressivelyfoistedonusbutnotcausedbyus.Wewon’tacceptthis‘newnormal’ofincreasingimpoverishmentorbetheir‘safety-release valve’ through forced emigration. Young peopleplayed no part in creating this crisis of the wealthy, the corrupt andthepowerful–andwewillnottoleratetheseattacksonourpresent and futures to pay for it.

This is a call out to any young person who feels ready to take thatstepintogettingorganisedwiththeirgenerationtofightbackagainst all the crap, against all the corruption, against all their attacks on our lives.

OnSaturday9NovemberattheYoungPeople’sAssemblyinLibertyHall,thelargestandbroadestgatheringofyoungpeoplesincethecrisis began – for the first time bringing together students, theyoung unemployed, precarious workers and their representative organisations–startedworkonacommoncharterandstrategiestogetorganisedandfightback.

FacilitatedbytheWe’reNotLeavingcampaign,theYoungPeople’sAssemblycollectivelyproducedthefollowing:

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PRECARIOUS WORK & INTERNSHIP CULTURE

Wedemand:

1. That companies be barred from displacing current paid workers with internship positions.

2. Thataday’sworkshouldequaladay’spay–alivingwage.

3. Anendtotheinstitutionalnormalisationofinternshipculture and the commencement of independent monitoring of internship schemes.

4. Stability and security in the workplace in terms of hours, income and location.

5. That the concept of “experience” should not replace paid work.

MENTAL HEALTH

Wedemand:

1. Universalaccesstofree,localandhigh-qualitypublicmental health services.

2. A collective and social approach to the de-stigmatisation of mental health issues and that positive mental health be promoted in the community, workplace and education system.

3. Recognition of the impact of precarious work, internship culture, unemployment and poverty on the mental health of young people in Ireland.

YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT & FORCED EMIGRATION

Wedemand:

1. Thatyoungpeoplewhohavebeenforcedtoemigratemust

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have the right to vote in elections in Ireland.

2. Anendtotherecruitmentembargowithinthepublicsector.

3. Therecognitionofourstatusasadultsinsociety.

4. That our trade unions be recognised and be allowed to collectivelybargainonourbehalf.

5. Real job creation from the government instead of token measures.

HOUSING

Wedemand:

1. Thatquality,accessiblehousingberecognisedasauniversal socialright–freefromdiscriminationbasedongender,sexual orientation, age and/or ethnicity – and that this right is guaranteedbythestate.

2. Strong regulation of landlords and developers in order to controlhousingcostsandensureaccesstoadequatehousing.

3. Thatthestateutilisetheexistingsocial-housingstock,aswell aspropertiesbelongingtoNAMAandthebailedoutbanks,in theinterestofthepublic.

FEE HIKES & GRANT CUTS:

Wedemand:

1. A third-level education system that is truly free at the first point of entry that is funded by a system of progressive taxation.

2. Agrantsystembeputinplaceforallstagesoffurtherand highereducation,whichenablesaccesstoeducationfor everyone in society and reflects the cost of living.

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3. The recognition of the broader non-economic benefits of education, as well as the recognition of the economic and social role that the students of today will play in the society of tomorrow.

4. Solidaritybetweenallstudentrepresentativebodiesandthe encouragement of political learning and engagement at all levels of education.

Thisopeningdraftwillbefurtherdevelopedinthecomingweeksandmonths,butwehopethisinclusivecharterbyandforyoungpeoplewill help us to finally come together in solidarity to organise and fightforanalternativeIrelandforyoungpeople–foraprofoundlydifferentvisionofsocialjusticeforthissociety.

We’re students, the young unemployed, precarious workers and mixesofallthree–we’reangryand#werenotleaving.Getinvolved.

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Fee Hikes & Grant Cuts

Key Points

• Since the abolition of university fees in 1996, the registrationfeehasincreasedfrom£150(€190)to€2,500andisgoingtoincreaseto€3,000in2015/16.

• The experience in England and Wales has shown that a student loan system does not save money.

• Ireland has one of the highest levels of fees in Europe.• Redefining“adjacent”and“non-adjacent”forthemaintenancegrantin2011hadahugeeffectonstudents.

Introduction

In recent years students in higher-level institutions in Ireland have beenfacedwiththedualobstaclesofasteadyriseintuitionfeescombinedwiththeerosionofgrantswhichhadhithertoofferedcrucialsupport.Sincetheadventontheeconomiccrisistheburdenof fundingeducationhasbeentransferredfromthestatetotheindividual student and their family.

Thisdocumentfocusesonpost-secondaryeducationintheRepublicofIreland,establishingthecurrentsituationbeforeexploringtheissues of fees and grants.

Higher Level Education in the Republic of Ireland

As of the 2012/13 academic year, there were 206,706 studentsat higher level institutions across the country. 52% of students were studying at one of the seven universities, 42% at Institutes

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of Technology, and just under 6% at other colleges. Education in Irelandhasanoticeablegeographicfocus,25%ofthepopulationliveinDublinbut42%ofstudentsarestudyinginthecity.

Access to education improved throughout the early twenty-first century but equality did not. 21% of students come from low-incomebackgroundsyettheyarenotrepresentedequallyamongthevariousinstitutions.18%ofentrantstouniversitiesand20%ofentrantstocollegesarefromlow-incomebackgroundsasopposedto 25% of those entering Institutes of Technology. Even within the ITsthereisvariation,asIADTandDublinInstituteofTechnologyaretheonlyITswithlessthan23%ofentrantscomingfromlow-incomebackgrounds.

Registration Fees

In 1996 university fees for full-time undergraduate students were abolished (fees for InstitutesofTechnologyhadbeenabolishedpreviously). There have been many efforts to officially reversethisposition,mostnoticeably in2004andagainbyMinister forEducationBattO’KeefeTDin2008/09.

Alongsidetheovertmeasuresbeingtakentoreintroducetuitionfees,therehasalsobeenahugeriseinthe‘studentcontribution’.Whentuitionfeeswereabolished,aregistrationfeeof£150(€190)wasmaintained. The current rate is €2 500, rising to€2,750 in2014/15and€3,000forthefollowingyear.

Ireland has one of the highest tuition fees in Europe. In Austria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany (exceptLower Saxony), Greece, Norway, Malta, Scotland, Slovakia, and Sweden students do not pay at all. Students pay fees of well under €1,000 in Belgium, Bulgaria, France, Iceland, Montenegro, andPolandandthemajorityofstudentspayfeesofunder€1,500inItaly, Liechtenstein, Portugal and Spain.

Recentgovernmentshave insistedthatthere isacrisis inhigherlevel funding in Ireland and that students need to start paying. Onemethodwhichwassuggestedwasagraduatetax,basedon

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the idea that graduates generally earn more than non-graduates. However, this did not take into consideration what would happen to those who had dropped out or what would happen in situations ofeconomiccollapseoremigration.Recently,thegraduatetaxhasfallen from favour.

Unfortunately, the introduction of a student loan system is still on the cards despite well-placed fears that such a scheme would put offprospectivestudentsfromlow-incomebackgroundsandthatitisnotasustainablesystem.TheexperiencefromtheUnitedStatesshows the dangers of loading young people with generations of debt.DatarecentlyreleasedonthestudentloansysteminEnglandand Wales has demonstrated that such a system does not pay for highereducation:afterraisingfeesto£9,000(€11,000)ayearto“save money”, the Universities Minister, David Willets, had to admit inMarchofthisyearthatwrite-offcostshavereached45%.Thepurpose of raising tuition fees was to save money, however if the write-offsreach48.6%ofallloansthentheBritishgovernmentwillhave lost more money than it would have saved with the cheaper system.

The Department of Education and Science has also raised fees for apprentices, charging for student services apprentices can’t avail of while at the same time denying access to grants that students can receive.

Maintenance Grants

Type Non-Adjacent AdjacentSpecialRate €5,915 €2,385FullMaintenance €3,025 €1,21575%Maintenance €2,270 €91050%Maintenance €1,515 €60525%Maintenance €755 €305

Maintenance grants are essential for many people to attend higher and further education. Almost half of all students are now receiving agrant,showingthegrowingnumbersrelyingonthegranttogetthrough college as family incomes tighten further.

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A2010studybytheHigherEducationAuthorityfoundthatgrantswere of particular importance in ensuring students do not drop out oftheircourse:“Itisclearthatgrantsupportplaysanimportantrole in student retention, particularly for students attending the institutes of technology. This signals the importance of grants for thefinancialwell-beingofstudentsandmeansthatstudentsareless reliant on part-time employment.”

Peopleonthemarginsofqualifyingforgrantshavesomeofthelowest higher-level participation rates. Longer distances are linked to lower participation rates for students from lower socio-economic groups,withthelikelihoodofattendingcollegefallingby2.7%forevery extra 10km living from college. So a lesswell-off studentliving50km fromcollege is 13.5% less likely togo to third-levelthan if they lived next to a college.

In2011thelimitforreceivingthe“non-adjacent”grantwasraisedfrom 24km to 45km. A prospective student who lived, for example, 35kmfromthecollegetheywouldliketoattendarenowclassedasliving“adjacent”tothecollege.Thiscompoundstheproblemsof accessing higher-level education for poorer students who do not live near colleges.

The destruction of the maintenance grant system does not stop at undergraduate level. Grants for postgraduate students have essentiallybeenwithdrawn.TheSUSI(nationalmaintenancegrantsystem)websitestatesthat,“studentsenteringnewpostgraduatecourses are not entitled to any maintenance payment under the StudentGrantScheme2013”.Thosewhohadpreviouslyqualifiedforthegrantcangetupto€2,000offtheirfeesandthoseincertaincircumstances can have their fees covered.

Although a postgraduate qualification is seen by many as anecessary step after an undergraduate degree – and in certaincareersessential–itisthestudentswhorelyonfinancialsupportwhoarethemostaffectedbythesecuts.

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Other issues:

ThisdocumenthasgivenabriefdescriptionofsomeofthemajorpublicissuesinhigherleveleducationinIrelandatthepresenttime:fees and maintenance grants. However, there are other issues which havenotbeendiscussedsuchasincreasingaccesstohigherleveleducationbymigrants,Travellers,andotherminoritygroups;theincreasing privitisation of higher level education; the undermining of independent research; or the precarious nature of employment within the sector.

Find Out More

• Higher Education Authority• Third Level Workplace Watch• Union of Students in Ireland• SUSI• NERI,WeNeedtoTalkaboutHigherEducation(2014)• European Commission, National Student Fee and Support Systems2013/14

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How they compare: The Republic's third-level institutions

Total Enrolment Low-income backgrounds

Drop-out % in first year

Universities 106,269 18% 9%UniversityCollegeDublin 23,600 17% 9%University College Cork 17,366 19% 9%TrinityCollegeDublin 16,486 14% 8%NUI Galway 16,479 20% 9%University of Limerick 11,890 20% 9%DublinCityUniversity 10,954 19% 11%NUI Maynooth 9,485 24% 10%Colleges 11,621 20% 4%RCSI 3,475 n/a n/aMary Immaculate 2,980 18% 5%St Patrick's Drumcondra 2,584 20% 3%NCAD 1,145 16% 5%St Angela's College of Education 900 13% n/aMater Dei Institute of Education 776 24% 4%Institutes of Technology 80,097 25% 18%DublinCityUniversity 15,459 22% 13%Cork 9,189 24% 23%Waterford 8,074 24% 21%Galway-Mayo 6,523 24% 22%Sligo 5,275 28% 10%Limerick 4,984 24% 18%Athlone 4,885 27% 11%Carlow 4,869 26% 18%Tallaght 4,754 28% 25%Dundalk 4,660 23% 13%Letterkenny 2,969 28% 4%Tralee 2,711 25% 12%Blancharstown 2,525 29% 18%IADT 2,205 20% 14%Tipperary (now part of LIT) 1,015 28% n/aAll HEA institutions 198,178 21% 11%

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Forced Emigration

Key Points

• 10peopleleaveeveryhour(April2012-2013)• 397,500peoplehaveemigratedsince2008• Ireland’s population shrank as a result of emigrationbymorethananyotherEUmemberstatein2012.

• Almostaquarterofemigrantsin2012/13wenttoBritain,while17.3%wenttoAustralia.

• 47%ofemigrants(2008-13)wereinfull-timeemploymentbeforedeparture–theirreasonsforemigratingwereaboutthequalityof employment in Ireland and their chances of improvement.

• 31.9%ofadultshavehadanimmediatefamilymemberemigratesince2006,while43.9%havehadanextendedfamilymemberleave. 61.9% of people have had amember of their “circle offriends”leavesince2006,risingto85.4%inthe20-30agegroup.

Introduction

ThehistoryofIrelandhasbeenmarkedbyemigration:theGreatFamine;economicstagnationinthenewIrishFreeStateandRepublic;economicproblems in the 1980s; and nowagain in the contextof the bank bailout, bust and recession. Emigration throughoutIrishhistoryhas,andcontinuestobe,basedonthefailuresofaneconomic and social system and the failures of government policy, withdevastatingeffectsforfamilies,communitiesandsocietyasawhole.

This document looks at emigration since the onset of the economic recession in 2008, with particular emphasis placed on youth

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emigration.Itwillalsobrieflyexplorethereasonsforemigration,the experiences and failed response to the crisis.

The Figures

The estimate of emigration from the onset of the economic recession in2008totheendof2013sitsat397,500people.Inacountryofjustunder4.6millionpeople,thisisahugelysignificantnumber.

Emigrationtotalled87,100 in2012and89,000in2013.Thetotalnumberofthoseimmigratingtoacountryminusthetotalnumberemigrating from that country is referred to as “net migration”. In Ireland,netmigrationshowedadecreaseof34,400peoplein2012and33,100in2013.Thismeansthat10peoplewereleavingIrelandeveryhourin2013.In2012Ireland’spopulationshrankasaresultofemigrationbymorethananyotherEUmemberstate.

Emigration has had a particular impact on young people:morethan40,000ofthe89,000wholeftinthe12monthstoApril2013werelessthan24yearsofage.Anestimated177,00015-24yearsoldsleftthecountrybetween2008andApril2013.

Context

Thebasicpushfactorforemigrationisalackofjobs.

Puttingthisinabroadercontext,unemploymentrosefrombelow5% to over 15% and the cost of attending higher level education

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rose while at the same time maintenance grants were cut, social protectionwasparedback,andGNPdeclinedbyaround10%.

A major study into emigration from Ireland, known as the UCC émigréreport,supportstheviewthatemigrationhasbeencausedbytheeconomicrecessionratherthanbeingalifestylechoice.Thesurvey shows that 17% of emigrants from Ireland had previously beendirectlyemployedinconstruction,thehardesthitindustryinthe recession.

TheUCCreportexplicitlystatesthat“between2006and2013grossemigrationofIrishpeoplewasintheorderof213,000personsintotal,risingfromjustover13,000in2005toalmost51,000intheyearendingMarch2013,anincreaseofnearly400%inthesevenyears from the pre-crisis period in the Irish economy to the present. In itself, this gives the lie to the notion that emigration is purely a matterof‘lifestylechoice’.”

Whendiscussingthelinksbetweenemploymentandemigration,itisimportanttohighlightthatwhatwemeanby“employment”isnotjustjobcreation;itisalsoaboutpayandconditions,qualityofworkandthefitbetweenqualificationandjob.Forexample,47%ofthosewhoemigratedsincetheeconomiccollapsehadbeeninfull-timeemployment,yet43.6%ofthatgrouplefttofindanotherjob or to gain professional experience not available to them athome. Some of their reasons for leaving included working here inareasunrelatedtotheirqualifications,thetemporarynatureofworkcontracts,andtheprospectofearningahighersalaryabroad.

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Underemployment is also considered a major push factor. An April 2013reportsfromtheIMFindicatedthecombinedunemploymentand underemployment level to be 23%. Large segments ofemigrants from 2008-2013 (47.1%)were leaving from employedpositionslargelybecauseconditionsandpaywerenotadequate.Cost cutting across the Irish economy was forcing people to leave

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Consequences

As well as describing those who had left and giving the firstindication of their reasons for leaving, the UCC report also highlights theimpactthatemigrationhasonthoseleftbehind.31.9%ofadultshavehadanimmediatefamilymemberemigratesince2006,while43.9%havehadanextendedfamilymemberleave.61.9%ofpeoplehavehadamemberof their ‘circleof friends’ leavesince2006,risingto85.4%inthe20-30agegroups.

Theimpactonruralareas,alreadyisolated,hasbeenparticularlyacute for many young people. Although 16% of households nationally have experienced the emigration of a member since2006, the number rises to 1 household in 4 in rural areas. IrishRural Link chief executive SeamusBoland said rural areaswerebeinghammeredbyemigration,withnineoutof10youngpeopleconsidering leaving the country to find work.

Attitudes and a policy of emigration?

Thegovernment’sattitudetoemigrationhasseemedmutedatbestandcallousatworst.TheministerofStateforSmallBusiness,JohnPerry TD, illustrated this in his statement that much emigration was“bychoice”.

In January 2014 this narrative seemed to have shifted slightlyasAn Taoiseach, EndaKenny TD, stated thatmany left to “getexperience”.Inbothcasestheblamewasshiftedfromthefailureof an economic and social system and a failure of government to a nicedecisionmadebytheyoung.

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Failures to tackle emigration, indications of disconnect and disinterest or even disregard for the devastating damage of emigration is compounded by the possibility that emigration isactually government policy. Emigration as a means of lowering unemployment and as a “safety valve” against discontent is well documentedinIreland’srecenthistory.Iin2013,4,000lettersweresentouttosocialwelfarerecipientshighlightingthepossibilityofjobsabroad.

Conclusion

This document has demonstrated that emigration from Ireland isnot“alifestylechoice”andinsteadestablishesthatthecausesforemigrationarethebailout,recessionandongoingyouthcrisis.Emigration figures are an indictment of Ireland’s economic failures and the failures of government policy.

This document will grow as more figures relating to emigration becomeavailable.However,thelackofgovernmentresearchintoemigration is an indication of the level of regard that emigrants are heldinbyelectedrepresentatives.

Find Out More

• IrialGlynn,TomásKellyandPiarasMacÉinrí,IrishEmigrationinanAgeofAusterity(Cork,2013)

• CSO

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Housing

Key Points

• On average, 2 people exit homelessness in Dublin every day.However, there are 6 new presentations each day.

• TheDublinRegionHomelessExecutiveexpectstospend€4.5million on emergency hotel accommodation for homeless families in2014,comparedto€1.3millionlastyearand€455,000in2012.Thisisa10-foldincrease.

• Therewere230,056vacantdwellings in Irelandatthetimeofthelastcensusin2011(notincludingholidayhomes).

• There are 89,000 on the local authority housing waiting list(probablymore).

• 40%ofstudentshavehadtheirdepositunfairlywithheld.• Over€50millionwasunder-spentbylocalauthoritiesonTravelleraccommodationin2007-2012.

• 3,600Travellersor11%oftheTravellerpopulationintheRepublicareofficiallyhomeless.

• Therearecurrently4,278asylumseekerslivingindirectprovisioncentresaroundIreland,ofwhich1,590arechildren.

• Thereare34directprovisioncentresaroundthecountry,only3ofwhichwerepurposebuilt.

• Attheendof2012,59%ofthoseinDirectProvisionhadbeenliving in the system longer than3years; 31% formore than5years; and 9% for longer than 7 years.

Introduction

The gathering crisis of housing and homelessness is finally starting to becomeclear.Housinglists,inabilitytopaymortgages,overpriced

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rents, lack of protection for renters, and the undermining of social housingareonlysomeoftheproblemsleadingtowardsahousingcrisis. Alongside these are the longstanding issues of Direct Provision and housing for Travellers.

It is notpossible togive a full account of themany and variedissues relating to housing in Ireland at the present time. Instead, thisreportaimstobrieflyintroducesomeofthemostimportantissues for understanding and campaigning.

Construction and the economy

It is necessary to quickly review the recent history of housingin Ireland so as to properly understand not just how the current situationdevelopedbutalsotounderstandtheviewpointofthosewhowishtoseethisformofspeculationandbubblecontinue.

AnemphasisonconstructionhasbeenaconstantfeatureoftheIrisheconomysinceindependence.InSinsoftheFatherConorMcCabeexplains how successive governments have used construction as a method of concealing structural deficiencies within the economy. For example, the Pay As You Earn (PAYE) tax scheme was introducedinthe1960sandbroughtasteadystreamofincometosupportthegovernmentgrants,taxexemptions,andofficerentswhichwenttofundspeculation.TheKennyReport(1974)aimedtostop speculation in the construction industry and was shelved for that very reason.

Fromthe1970sonwards,thestatebegantoincreasinglyrelyonconstructionasamethodofbolsteringtheeconomy.By2006,13%of the workforce was employed in the construction industry (rising to22.6%ofemployedmales).ThiswaswellabovetheEUaverageof 7.9% and was the highest dependency among all EU countries. That sameyear theconstruction industry accounted for 23%ofoutput in the economy, relative to only 14% ten years previously and an EU average of 12%.

While government spokespeople may point to skyrocketing rents and house prices as a “return to the good old days”, it is necessary

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to recall that speculation and an over-emphasis on construction ledtoabubble(anditseventualbust):“constructionandservicescanonlyworkasanaid togrowth; in Ireland theyhadbecomegrowth itself”.

Homelessness

3,808peoplewere recordedashomeless inCensus2011. 3,744were in accommodation and 64 were sleeping rough. 62% were living inDublin. It is estimated that over 5,000people are nowhomeless in Ireland.

Charitiesandagenciesworkingwithhomelesspeoplehavebeenattempting to highlight the rising numbers using their services.ThePeterMcVerryTrusthelped3,586homelesspeopleinDublinin2013,a17%riseon2012.InNovember2013,FocusIrelandrevealedthat ithadprovidedassistanceto9,237peoplewhowereeitherhomelessoratriskofbecominghomelessthroughoutthecountry,a jump of almost 1,500 from the year before. 139 people wererecordedassleepingroughinDublinon12thNovember2013. InApril 2014, the InnerCityHelpingHomelessgroup logged2,241roughsleepersthattheyhadfedandclothedinthespaceof28nights.

Alice Leahy, director of the homeless agency Trust, has stated that those working with homeless people “are now coming across conditions long disappeared since the advent of good food e.g. malnutrition, trench foot and impetigo – conditions clearlyassociated with extreme poverty”.

Commonideasaboutwhobecomeshomelessorthereasonsforhomeslessnessarenotonlyinaccuratebutalsoconcealmuchofthe experience of homelessness in Ireland today. According to the Simon Community, homelessness “can mean sleeping rough, stayinginemergencyhostelsorshelters,stayingintemporarybedandbreakfastaccommodationorstayingwithfriendsandrelativeswhen there is nowhere else to go. Homelessness is all of these things. Forpeople experiencinghomelessness it is about a lackofsecurity,a lackofbelongingandoftenaboutbeingcold,sick

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and isolated.” The document reproduced at the end of this report, European Typology of Homelessness and Housing Exclusion, lists various forms of homelessness.

AstudybyCorkSimonintohomelessnessinthecityfoundthat92%ofhomelesspeopleinCorkwereunemployedbythetimetheygottoanemergencyshelter,80%hadlegaltroubles,78%wereearlyschoolleavers,76%wereunskilled,and68%werediagnosedwitha mental health condition. Commenting on the report, Dr Niamh Hourigan of UCC said that “the report shows that homelessness often occurs after early deprivation and school-leaving, addiction andmentalhealthproblemshavealreadytakentheirtoll”.

Thenumberoffamiliesbecominghomelesshasbecomeanissueofparticularconcerninrecentmonths,asthenumbersinthecapitalhavejumpedfrom8to16permonth.Risingrents,acaponrentallowance,andalackofsuitablerentalhousingarebeingblamedassomeoftheimmediatecausesoffamiliesnotbeingabletostayintheirhomes.Alongsidethis,bankshavewarnedthatasmanyas25,000mortgageholdersfacehavingtheirhomesrepossessedorforciblysold.

The lack of appropriate accommodation for families to move into has ledtounsuitableandunsustainableresponsesbylocalauthorities:the Dublin Region Homeless Executive expects to spend €4.5million on emergency hotel accommodation for homeless families thisyear,comparedto€1.3millionlastyearand€455,000in2012.

Although2peopleonaverageexithomelessnessinDublinperday,there are six new presentations each day.

Rent Supplement

Rent Supplement is paid to people living in private rentedaccommodation.TheamountofRentSupplementediscalculatedto ensure that income after paying rent does not fall below aminimum level. For a parent or couple with three children renting inDublinthemaximumrentpermonthis€1,000.

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RentSupplementisbasedonthe“maximumrent”limitforeachcounty.Anyoneinfull-timeemployment(over30hoursperweek)cannotqualifyforRentSupplement.Evenifonlyonepartnerinacouple is working full-time, the couple is excluded from the scheme. Singlepeoplemustpayatleast€30aweektowardstherentwhilecouplespayatleast€40.

TherehavebeenanumberofchangestorentsupplementratesinIrelandsince2009,includingreducingthemaximumrentlimit,increasingthetenantcontribution,andtighteningeligibility.Thesechangeshavebeenlinkedtothe increase inproblemsaccessinghousingoverthepastnumberofyears.

AsurveybyFocus Irelandnotedthat intervieweesfound itverydifficult to access private rented accommodation and reportedthe “widespread experience that most landlords are reluctant to acceptRentSupplement”. Intervieweesalsoexplained that theyfelt they had no alternative other than declaring a lower rent to the Department of Social Protection and paying a top-up to the landlord.

NiamhRandell,nationalspokespersonfortheSimonCommunity,called for rent supplements to be raised to come in line with“real rents”. Threshold, the national housing charity, has called fora“betterrentsupplementscheme”.Theyproposethatanewpayment schemebebasedon income rather thanemployment,meaning that tenants could take up paid work without losing all of their rent supplement payment, as well as the payment of rent supplement directly to landlords.

Amajorfocusinregardsrentsupplementistheamountofpublicmoney going to private landlords. In 2013 the top 20 landlordrecipientsreceived€5millionbetweenthem.Onereceived€578,000inrespectof114apartments.AsofJanuary2014,55,000peoplehadbeenonRentSupplementformorethan18months.

Social Housing

According to the Housing Authority, “social housing support is

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housingprovidedbyalocalauthorityoranApprovedHousingBodytopeoplewhocannotaffordhousing fromtheirown resources.Local authorities are the main providers of social housing support inIreland.Thereareanumberofwaysalocalauthorityprovideshousing:

• Asocialrentedtenancyinpropertyownedandmanagedbythelocal authority.

• Asocialrentedtenancyinpropertyownedandmanagedbyanapprovedhousingbody.

• A tenancy in a property the local authority is managing or has leased from a private property owner.

• A RAS (Rental Accommodation Scheme) tenancy where thelocal authority arranges short or long term leases with private landlords for particular properties. (People in receipt of rent supplementfor18monthsorlongerareeligibletoapplyforthistype of accommodation).

[…]Asatenantinsocialhousingsupport,youarerequiredtopayrent to the local authority. How much rent you pay depends on your income and household size.”

ThelistprovidedbytheHousingAuthorityhighlightsthemannerinwhichprivate landlordsbenefit frompublichousingschemes.ConorMcCabeexplainsthatsomeofthemostimportantactionsindestroyingsocialhousinghappened in the 1980s: in 1984 theSurrender Grant Scheme was introduced; in 1988 Section 23TaxReliefwas reintroduced; and local authoritiesbowedoutofresidentialmortgageprovision.By1991/92thehigh-pointofowner-occupancyinIrelandhadbeenreached(79%).Bytheearly1990s,220,000ofthe330,000publichousingunitsinthestatehadbeensold to tenants

Mick Byrne, a post-doctoral scholar at the National Institutefor Regional and Spatial Analysis, has investigatedmore recentdevelopments: “Throughout the last decade social housingcomplexesinDublinandLimerickweretoberedevelopedunder‘public-private partnerships’ that relied on private finances. Thelocalauthoritywouldgivepubliclandtodevelopersforfree,and

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thedeveloperwouldbuildnewsocialhousingunitswhilemakinga tidy profit from the construction of additional private housing.

“IfredevelopedsocialhousingatnocosttotheExchequersoundstoogoodtobetrue,that’sbecauseitis.CityCouncilsdidn’tstoptothinkwhatwouldhappenifthebubbleburst,orpausetoconsiderthe fact that developers such as MacNamara/Castlethorn, whowere awarded three massive regeneration contracts, were among themostindebtedinthecountry.Inotherwords,noonestoppedtothinkabouttheinherentcontradictionsoffinanceandproperty.

“Butifyoulivebythesword,youdiebythesword–oncepropertyprices dropped the redevelopments ran aground, leaving the communities of O’Devaney Gardens, Dominick Street, Croke Villas andStMichaelsEstate(tonameafew)withnothingbutvacantlots and empty promises”.

Within this context it is unsurprising that, despite the spiralling numberswith housing difficulties, there has been little done toincrease the store of social housing since the start of the economic

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crisis. In2007,almost7,000 localauthorityhomeswerebuiltoracquiredbylocalauthorities.In2013,just546werebuilt,areductionof just over 92%.

Thereareofficially89,000householdsonthenationalwaitinglistforlocal-authorityhousing,upfrom56,000in2008.However,astheHousingAgencyfigureisayearold,thecurrentnumbercouldbemorethan100,000households.

Oneinfiveapplicantshasbeenontheirlocalauthority’swaitinglistformorethan5yearsandalmost10%havebeenwaitingformorethan7years.TheproblemismostacuteinDublin,withmorethanathirdofallthosewaitingforcouncilhousinginDublincityand county.

MinisterofStateforHousing,JanO’SullivanTD,hasannouncedthat2,700homeswillbemadeavailablebytheendof2016,includingbuildings from local authorities and NAMA. Construction 2020,theplanforarenewedconstructionsector,waslaunchedbythegovernmentintheweekbeforethelocalandEuropeanelectionsinMay2014. It aims to triple housingoutputby the endof thedecadeandtoadd60,000 jobstotheconstructionsector.Oneparticularproposal–thehelp-to-buyscheme-hasbeencriticisedasareturntothepolicieswhichcreatedthepropertybubble.

Fr Peter McVerry has said that “I think the flaw in it is that it is an attempt to find a low cost solution to homelessness when there isn’tone.ThesecondflawisthatweareinthismessbecausetheGovernment withdrew from controlling local authority housing themselves and depended on the private sector to provide social housing. That failed and this relies very heavily on the private rental sector to soak up homelessness”.

Vacant Homes and NAMA

Therewere289,451vacantdwellingsinIrelandatthetimeofthelastcensusin2011.Thevacantdwellingsconsistedof168,427houses,61,629apartments,and59,395holidayhomes.Whilethenumberof vacant houses had fallen by4% from the previous census in

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2006,thenumberofvacantapartmentshadincreasedby48%inthe same period.

In2010therewere2,800unfinishedhousingestates.By20121,770developmentsremainedunfinished(approximately1,100wereinaseriouslyproblematiccondition).Somehadbeenremovedfromthe“unfinished”listbecausetheyweresubstantiallycompletedwhileotherswereremovedbecausedevelopmentnevercommenced.

Itisnotasurprisethatmanypeoplehavebeenoutragedbythefactthatthereisthisnumberofemptyhomesinacountrywithincreasinglevelsofhomelessness.However,thehousingproblemcannotbesolvedmerelybysendingallthosewithhousingtroubleto empty estates around the country as many of the empty homes are in areas with very weak transport links, no social services, and high unemployment.

IthasbeensuggestedthattheNAMAbuildingsshouldbeputtousehousingpeople.However,againthisrunsintoproblems.NAMAhasaround16,000propertiesbutonly16.6%ofNAMApropertiesareresidential(consistingof8,000apartmentsand2,000houses).

NAMAhasidentifiedabout2,000unitsitbelievesaresuitableforhousinginDublin,Cork,LimerickandGalwaybutabout1,000ofthoseunitshavebeenrejectedbecauseoffearsofsocialhousing

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concentration. NAMA has delivered 684 housing units to localauthorities and voluntary housing bodies so far this year, themajorityofwhichhavebeentenants.

Students

Young people and students are particularly vulnerable in theprivaterentalmarket.ResearchdonebyUSIdiscoveredthat40%of students have had their deposit unfairly withheld; 75% of cases reportedtothePrivateResidentialTenanciesBoard(PRTB)wereinrelationtodepositretention;andover60%ofstudentshavehadover€200unfairlytakenofftheirdeposit.Insteadoftreatingthedepositasinsurancethatthetermsoftheleasebecompliedwith,the report found landlords using it as income.

Even students in college accommodation are not protected from unscrupulous landlords as the cost of on-campus accommodation issettoriseby13%forthe2014/15yearinDublin.

Traveller Accommodation

AccordingtoPaveePoint,thereareabout36,000Travellersand3,000RomalivingintheRepublicofIreland.

Alreadyunderfunded,manyofthecuts intheausteritybudgetshave directly targeting Traveller initiatives: Traveller-specificaccommodationhasbeenslashedfrom€70mto€40m.TheIrishTravellerMovementhashighlightedthatbetween2007and2012,over€50millionwasunder-spentbylocalauthoritiesonTravellerAccommodationallocations.DespitearequestbytheMinisterofState,JanO’SullivanTD,tothelocalauthoritiesnoexplanationhasyetbeengivenforthis.

TheITMhavealsopointedoutthat“currently819Travellerfamilyunitsarerequired,3,600Travellersor11%ofthepopulationintheRepublicareofficiallyhomelessandyet in2013there isonly€4millionavailableascapitaland€2millionforcurrentfundingdueto cuts in Traveller Accommodation budgets which have beenreducedfrom€70millionsince2000.Afurtherreductionto€3

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millionisplannedfor2014.”

The ITMnotesthesignificant increase inTraveller familiesbeingplaced intoprivate rentedaccommodation: 162 families in2002to2,829 in2012.This iscontrarytotherequirementsoutlines intheHousing(TravellerAccommodation)Act1998.SincethefirstTraveller Accommodation Plan in 2000 stated a gross need of3,629unitsofaccommodation,therehaveonlybeen864newunitsprovidedand591refurbished.47unitsprovidingfornomadismviaTransientprovisionarebeingusedforemergencyaccommodation.

Direct Provision

When the system of “direct provision” for asylum seekers was introducedin2000itwasenvisagedthatpeoplewouldspendnomore than six months in the system while they awaited decisions ontheirasylumapplication.Attheendof2012,59%ofallresidentshadbeenindirectprovisionforlongerthan3years;31%formorethan 5 years; and 9% for longer than 7 years.

Thereare34directprovisioncentresaroundthecountry,only3ofwhichwerepurposebuilt.Therearecurrently4,278asylumseekerslivingindirectprovisioncentresaround Ireland,ofwhich 1,590arechildren.AnEU-widereport found that Ireland is one of just 5 states which does not offer tailored accommodation for vulnerable asylum applicants(other than unaccompanied minors).

Thelivesofresidentsaregovernedbyunnecessarilyrestrictiverulese.g.beingobligedtoeatthefoodpreparedbythecentreandnotbeingallowedtocookortohavefoodinone’sroom.Theweeklyallowanceforasylumseekersindirectprovisionis€19.10peradultor€9.60perchild (thishasnot increasedsince thesystemwasintroducedin2000).AllEUstatesotherthanIrelandandLithuaniaallow asylum applicants to work.

Privacy is a significant issue. Single (non-married) residents share a room with several other adults, and parents live in one room with theirchildren.Facilitiessuchasbathroomsareoftenshared.

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Residents do not have access to an independent complaintsmechanism.  If an issue affecting a resident’s security or healthandwelfarearisesthentheresidenthasnooptionbuttoraiseitfirst with the management of the individual centre and then with theReceptionandIntegrationAgency(RIA).Asylum-seekersarereluctanttocomplainbecauseofthepossibilityofretaliationfrommanagement or that it may negatively impact their relationship withtheDepartmentofJustice.

DrGeoffreyShannon,SpecialRapporteuronChildProtection,saysthat living in direct provision can have a “detrimental effect onchildren.Ifwelookattheconditionsinthecentres,byanystandarditcouldnotbesaidtoequatetonormalfamilyliving.Thesefamilieslive in very restricted accommodation, and this can have a profound impact on the mental health of adults and children.”

Conclusions

This report has attempted to set out some of the major issues to do with the housing crisis in Ireland today. These include the history of construction within the economy, growing homelessness, problems with Rent Supplement, the ongoing undermining ofsocial housing, and specific problems faced by students. Thereport has also attempted to set out some of the facts in relation to accommodation for Travellers and asylum seekers.

Evenatitscurrentlength,thisisonlyapreliminaryreport.Butitincludes enough information to show that housing in Ireland is a cause for outrage.

Find Out More:

• ConorMcCabe,SinsoftheFather(2011)• Irish Council for Social Housing• Housing.ie• Citizens Information• Threshold• Simon Community

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• Irish Traveller Movement• European Migration Network, The Organisation of ReceptionFacilitiesforAsylumSeekersinIreland(February2014)

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Internship Culture

Key Points

• A survey of US employers found that 63.1% of students whohaddonepaidinternshipsgotatleast1jobofferbygraduation.Only37%offormerunpaidinternscouldsaythesame–only1.8percentagepointsabovethosewhohadneverdoneaninternship.

• An EU-wide survey found that 65% of interns surveyed had relied on some form of financial help from home.

• Ireland isbehindthecurveonunpaid internships. IntheUS,afederal court judge ruled that interns on Black Swan did thework of paid employees and should have received at least the minimumwage.IntheUK,HMRChasthreatedtopublicallycrackdown on employers organising internships that don’t adhere to the minimum wage.

• OnlyhalfofJobBridgeinternsfinishtheplacement.• OfthosewhochoosetoleaveJobBridge,one-thirddosobecause

they are dissatisfied with the placement. • 29%ofHostOrganisationsadmittedthattheywouldhavebeenlikelytoofferpaidworktoJobBridgeinternsiftheschemehadn’texisted.

Introduction

Due to their vagueness, informality and undefined nature, there is alackofcoherenceaboutwhatactuallyconstitutesaninternship.TheEuropeanYouthForumconsidersaninternshipasfollows:“aformoflearninginarealworksituationwhichcaneitherbepartofaformaleducationprogrammeorbedonevoluntarilyoutsideformaleducation,withtheaimofacquiringcompetenciesthrough

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executing ‘real’work taskswhilstbeingfinanciallycompensatedand having access to according social protection”.

The lack of agreed-upon definition for internships leads to confusionaboutsomeofthecharacteristicsofinternships,suchasorganisation, payment, and type of work. • Organisation:Internshipscanbeformallyorganised(e.g.aspart

of a degree or a dedicated internship programme at a company) orbeaninformalarrangement(e.g.ayoungpersontakenonata company through family connections, etc.)

• Payment:dependingonthesituation,internscanbefullypaid,haveexpensescovered,orbecompletelyunpaid

• Typeofwork:whileinternshipsshouldhaveanaspectoftraining(preferably with a designatedmentor, goals and contract) inpractice interns generally complete work as normal employees

As there is little or no data on internships in general in Ireland, thefirstthreesectionsofthisdocument(growth, inequalityandundermining work) look at the international examples as a way of understanding “internship culture”. The final section investigates oneparticulartypeofinternshipinIreland,JobBridge,forwhichwe do have statistics.

Internships have grown as work has become more precarious

Thereiscurrentlyverylittleinformationavailableaboutinternshipsin general in Ireland (whether formal or informal). However, as the phenomenon was developed in the United States and is very much influencedbydebatesfromthatcountryitisappropriatetolookathow internships developed there.

The very first interns in the US were medical students at the turn of the twentieth century. Then, an internship was a transitional periodbetweenmedicalschoolandwork.Bythe1930sinternshipswere cropping up in politics and after the Second World War they appeared in “Corporate America”. The idea at this time was that theworkerwouldgetajobattheendoftheinternship.Thisfeaturehaschangedinthelast20–30years.

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Today,aninternshipisnolongerabouttrainingaworkerforajob.A2012studybyMillenniumBrandingfoundthat91%ofthe225(US) employers it surveyed said that students “should have one or two”internshipsbeforetheygraduate.However,halfofsurveyedemployers hadn’t hired any interns in the previous six months. “In otherwords,internshipsdon’talwaysleadtoajoboffer”.

IntheUS,itisestimatedthat25-50%ofinternshipsarecompletelyunpaidyetunpaidinternshipsarenotbeneficialtoyoungworkers:theNationalAssociationofCollegesandEmployers(NACE)2013survey“foundthat63.1percentofstudentswithapaidinternshipunder theirbelthad receivedat leastone joboffer.Butonly37percentofformerunpaidinternscouldsaythesame–anegligible1.8percentagepointsmorethanstudentswhohadneverinterned.”In a comparison of salaries, the NACE discovered that not only wereformerunpaidinternsofferedlessmoneythanformerpaidinterns,buttheywereactuallyofferedlessmoneythanthosewhohad never done an internship at all.

Internships entrench inequality

Although significant work has been done in the US in relationto the pervasive nature of internships in modern economies, in theUnitedKingdomthedebatehasfocusedonhowinternshipsentrenchinequality.Theyare“essential,expensiveandexclusive”according to Intern Aware.

ThemainfactorraisedaboutinternshipsintheUKishowaninternmusthaveconsiderableresourcese.g.connectionsinaparticularindustry,availableaccommodationinLondon,andaccesstoenoughmoneythattheycansurvivewithoutbeingpaidforseveralmonths.For those who do not have these resources internships are out of thequestions:“inapollconductedbySurvationforUnions21,84%ofpeopleover35saidthatayoungpersonintheirfamilycouldnotaffordtodoanunpaidinternshipinLondon”.

A2011reportbytheEuropeanYouthForumshowsthattheneedforfamilysupport(andtheresultinginequality)isnotspecifictotheUSorUK. The report found that only 75%of interns had a

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written contract and 51% were paid. “Of those who received some form of remuneration, 49% had their living costs covered and 6% had some living costs covered. However, the remaining 45% of thosewhowerecompensatedfoundtheremunerationinsufficientto cover day to day expenses.” Overall, it was found that 65% of interns had received financial support from home.

ThewayinwhichinternshipsareprocuredintheUKhasalsocausedcontroversy; there have been reports of internship auctions bywealthy individuals.

Internships undermine work

It is in this section that the international framework for Ireland’s internship culture becomesmost noticeable. Although they areengaged in work for a company or institution, interns are unpaid (orpoorlypaid)becausetheinternshipissupposedlyeducational.Thismeans that the intern’swork is devaluedbecause they areworking for experience (or a reference) instead of money. However, theconceptofadecentwageforworkdoneisalsobeingdevalued.

The experience of unpaid interns doing the work or paid employees withoutanyofthebenefitshasbeenwell-documentedintheUS,UKandothercountries.Itisnowbecomingmoreclearlyunderstoodthatinternsparticipateinworkandsomustbepaidtheminimumwage.InJune2013aNewYorkfederaljudgeruledthattwounpaidinterns on themovie Black Swan should have received at leasttheminimumwage:“unless it’sabonafidetrainingorvolunteerposition,aninternshipshouldbepaid,opentoallandtransparentlyadvertised–andshouldneverresultinthedisplacementofotheremployees”.Therearecurrentlyover20lawsuitsinprogressintheUSbyformerunpaidinternsclaimingtheyperformedtheworkofpaidemployeesandshouldhavebeenpaid.

In the US, interns are workers andmust be paid the minimumwage. TheDept. of Labor lists six criteria thatmustbemet foraninterntonotbepaid:theinternshipissimilartotraininginaneducationalenvironment;theexperienceisforthebenefitoftheintern;doesn’tdisplaceregularemployeesbutworksunderclose

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supervisionofexistingstaff;theemployerderivesno immediateadvantagefromtheinternship;theinternisn’tentitledtoajob;theintern and employer understand the intern isn’t entitled to a wage.

IntheUnitedKingdom,therehasalsobeenrecognitionthatinternsshouldbeclassedasworkers: “Internshipsmustcomplywithallcurrent employment legislation provisions. National Minimum Wage(NMW) legislationensuresthatallworkers intheUKwhoareovercompulsoryschoolleavingageareentitledtobepaidatleast theNMW,unless theyarecoveredbyanexemption in theNMWlegislation.‘Worker’hasalegaldefinitionanddependsuponthe existence of a contract of employment or any other contract to personally perform work or services.”

HMRC (UK Revenue) has threatened a public crackdown onemployers not paying interns the minimum wage.

JobBridge

As internships (paid or otherwise) are relatively new to Ireland, therehasbeenvery littlediscussionabout internship ingeneral.Instead, thedebatehasbeen focusedononeparticular typeofinternship: JobBridge, the national internship scheme started in2011.

The Government, and especially the Department of Social Protection, liketopointouthowwelltheJobBridgeprogrammeisdoingdespite itsobvious failure.Their statistics aregenerallybased on an independent report carried out by Indecon,whichinvestigated the programme from its inception to the end of November2012.However,theGovernmentreadingofthereporthasbeenselectiveatbest.

The Interns

The report found that the majority of interns (72%) are aged between20and34yearsold.40.5%haveaprimarydegreeand19.3%aMasters.72.3%hadpreviouslybeenemployedona full-timebasis,ofwhich74.6%hadover2yearsofworkexperience.

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ThisshowsthatJobBridgeinternshipsnotonlydonotrepresenttheoverallageprofileoftheunemployedbutthatinternsclearlydo not lack “experience”.

The Internship

There is a notable difference in the experience of interns andhostorganisationsofJobBridge,moststrikinglyintheirlevelsofsatisfaction and views on the nature of work experience. While over 90%ofhostorganisationsweresatisfiedorverysatisfiedwiththescheme,only65%ofinternswerecorrespondinglypositiveabouttheexperience.Asshowninthetablebelow,hostorganisationsalso

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had a much more positive view of the experience and opportunities thattheschemeofferedinternsthantheinternsthemselvesdid.Similarly, while 96.1% of host organisations indicated that they wouldrecommendJobBridgetootheremployers,66.2%ofinternssaid they would recommend it to other people.

The report notes that 72.5% of interns who completed their internship earlier than scheduled indicated they this resulted from decisions which they, rather than their Host Organisation, made. Justunderone-thirdindicatedthattheyendedtheinternshipearlybecauseofdissatisfactionwiththeplacement.

It is unsurprising then, that only half of interns complete their placement.

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After the Internship

Despite thepositive toneof the Indecon reporton thebenefitsJobBridge gives to interns, the facts presented in the reportitselfgiveaverydifferentpicture.TheratesofemploymentpostJobBridge(forthosewhocompletedtheirinternship)areimpactedonhugelybytheeducationalleveloftheintern,theirlevelofworkexperience prior to the scheme, and how long they had beenunemployed.

Indecon admits that “Unsurprisingly, the evidence suggests that employment progression outcomes deteriorate the longer

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individualshavebeenunemployedpriortotheirinternships,with38%ofschemeparticipantswhowerepreviouslyoutofworkforovertwoyearsbeinginemploymentpost-internshipcompletion,fallingfurthertoonly28.2%amongthosepreviouslyunemployedfor three years of more.”

The report also shows that of those interns who completed their internshipsandfounda jobafterwards, lessthanhalffoundfull-time,permanentworkandtheiraveragehourlyearningswere€12,or 56% of average economy-wide earnings.

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WithoutJobBridge

The information presented in the independent report demonstrates thatJobBridgeisasourceofunpaidlabourtoemployers,ratherthan a kindly service to the unemployed.

For example, 60% of surveyed employers said that JobBridgeproviding a “low-cost temporary addition” to their workforce was important or very important to them. 71% said that it was important or very important that JobBridge secured access to additionalskills.29%ofHostOrganisationswouldhavebeenlikelytoofferpaidemploymenttotheJobBridgeinternsintheabsenceofthescheme.

TheProblemwithJobBridgeThe informationmentioned so far indicates that JobBridge is anegative experience for interns and does not aid them in their search for work? Why is the Department for Social Protection continuingwithaschemewhichhassoobviouslyfailed?

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The answer is that just because JobBridge fails interns doesnotmeanit isfailingatitspurpose.Firstly,JobBridgeisamajormeansofmaskingunemploymentfigures.InMarch2014Ministerof State, Paul Kehoe TD, explained in a parliamentary questionthatJobBridge(aswellasotheractivationschemeslikeTUS)areclassifiedasemployedintheQuarterlyNationalHouseholdSurvey.

ThesecondpurposeofJobBridgeistoprovideunpaidlabourtocompanies. The data reproduced above shows that companiesadmittedtousingtheschemetocutcosts. 133companiesevenadmittedtousingJobBridgetodisplacepaidworkers.Itisamatterofconcernthatthis isalsooccurring inthepublicsector:4,944internshadcompletedtheirJobBridgeinthepublicsectorasofNovember2013.JobBridgeisclearlybeingusedtomaskjobcuts

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inthepublicsector.

Another cause for concern is that JobBridge is the compulsorynatureofJobBridge.Whentheschemewasstarted,theDepartmentforSocialProtectionfocusedonthevoluntarynatureofJobBridge.However,inJanuary2014MinisterBurtonannouncedthatyoungunemployed people who “fail to apply or accept some additional opportunitiesontheJobBridgenationalinternshipscheme”couldfacedolecuts.Sanctionsforthosecurrentlyon€144havingtheirweeklypaymentcutto€144andthoseon€100beingcutto€75.

IntheIndeconsurvey133companiesadmittedtousingJobBridgeto replace paid workers. Yet, as of January 2014, less than 40participating companies had been disqualified for abuses ofJobBridge. Taken together with the figures and statementsmentioned above, it is clear that the problem is not that a fewunscrupulousemployersareabusingthesystem;JobBridgeistheabuse.

Conclusions

ThishasbeenafairlylengthydocumentbecauseitisdealingwithboththeconceptofinternshipcultureandwithspecificinformationabouttheJobBridgeprogramme.Althoughthedataoninternshipsisscarce,theinformationwhichiscurrentlyavailableshowsthatinternships are not just a “phase” that young people have to go throughbeforegettingtopaidwork.Internshipsarebadforinterns,badforworkers,andverygoodforemployers.

Whilereadingthisdocumentitisimportanttobearinmindthatalthough they have existed in one shape or another for over a century, intheircontemporaryforminternshipscannotbeseparatedfromprecarious work or the undermining of pay, conditions and the very meaning of work

More Information

• Indecon,EvaluationofJobBridge:FinalEvaluationReport(2013).• Pathways to Work 2013: 50 Point Plan to Tackle Long-Term

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Unemployment• GatewaystotheProfessionsCollaborativeForum,CommonBestPracticeforHigh-QualityInternships

• EuropeanYouthForum,InternsRevealed:ASurveyonInternshipsQualityinEurope

• European Youth Forum, Opinion Paper on Internships• Intern Aware• InternLabourRights• International Coalition for Fair Internships • Unpaid is Unfair• ScamBridge

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Mental Health

Key Points

• Despite having the 6th lowest suicide rate in the EU, the suicide rate among young people in Ireland is the 4th highest in the EU.

• In the EU, every 1% increase in national unemployment is paralleled bya0.8%riseinsuicide.

• A2013reportbytheRCSIfoundthat19%ofIrishyoungpeoplehadthoughtaboutsuicide.

Introduction

The following traces some useful resources relevant to youth mental healthinIreland,withaparticularregionalbiastowardsGalway.

Suicide rates in Ireland

Therewere475suicidesinIrelandin2013,a6.3%decreaseonthepreviousyear.AccordingtofiguresfromtheCSOtherehasbeenadecreaseinsuicidesamongstpeopleaged15-24:therewere95deathsin2011,74in2012and57in2013

The suicide rate amongst young people in Ireland was found to bethefourthhighestintheEUin2010,withyoungpeopleagedbetween20and24mostatrisk(31.9per100,000deaths).ThisisdespitethefactthatIrelandhasthesixthlowestrateofdeathbysuicide in the EU when the population as a whole is considered.

AreportbytheRoyalCollegeofSurgeonsinIrelandfoundin2013thatalmost1in5(19%)ofIrishyouthshadthoughtaboutsuicide.

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Thesuiciderate,whichcalculatesthenumbersofdeathsbysuicideper100,000ofpopulationstoodat11.1inIrelandin2012.At12.6,theaverage in county Galway was higher than the national average. The suicide rate in Galway City was identical to the national average, with 30 people committing suicide in Galway City and County,accordingtoofficialfigures.Thiscomparesto21 inbothGalwayCityandCounty in2003. Inbothtimeperiods,suicideoccurreddisproportionately in rural areas.

PaulKellyofawarenessgroupConcernsaid inApril2011 that inrecentmonthscallstotheirhelplinehadincreasedby13%;manyofthecallerswerepeopleaffectedbytherecession.Hecriticisedsuicidestatisticsfrom2007asbeingoutofdate,statingthattherehadbeena“hugesurge”insuicidesincepreviousyears.

Galway East Life Support (GELS) founder, Arthur Carr, said there were 26 suicides in the east of the county in the first six months of2013,arguingthatthereisunder-reportinginofficialfigures:“Icounted26casesmyselfbetweenJanuary 1andJune 13of lastyear.Theofficialfigureissomewherebetween30and37foralloflastyear,butrealisticallythefigurefor2013isbetween45and49.”

Self–harm

Dr Eve Griffin, Research Psychologist/ Registry Co-ordinator,saidthatshehadseena14%increaseinallHSEregionsbetween2007and2011,thoughinoneofthoseyearstherehadbeena4%reduction.“There’sprobablyalinktothecurrentrecession.Thoughwe are primarily focussed on younger people, we are seeing an increase in the rate of self-harming for women in their forties.”

The Western region of the HSEs had the highest number ofteenagers showing suicidal tendencies, self-harming and ADHD andotherattentionaldisordersin2010.

Duringthefirsthalfof2012,theincidenceratesfordeliberateself-harming inGalwayCitywas 166 per 100,000 population, downalmost 21% on the previous year’s equivalent figure of 210 per100,000.

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Mental health and the economic crisis

Internationally, there is a close correlation between nationalunemployment and suicide rates; in the European Union, every 1% increaseinnationalunemploymentisparalleledbya0.8%riseinsuicide in people under 65 years of age. Lack of social support is a keycauseofthis.Researchintheformer-USSRfoundthatsuicide,alongside issues like anxiety and depression, was substantiallyreducedwheretradeunionmembershipwashigh.

During times of economic crisis, increased demand for mental healthservicescoincidewithanincreasedinabilityforthosewithmentalhealthproblemstoaccessthenecessaryservices,duetoan inability toaffordprivatehealthcareandcutbacks topublichealthcare.

A2013reportexplainsthat“unemploymenthasacausalinfluenceon depression. Common sense dictates that depression will reduce the chance of re-employment and reintegration into an already strainedeconomyandeventuallythechronicallyunemployedsufferincreaseddebts.Longitudinaldatashowthatfinancialdifficultiesleadtoincreasedmajordepression,withhousingpaymentproblemsandconsumerdebtleadingtopoorermentalhealth.Inshort,thequintessential‘viciouscycle’.”

The same report highlighted that anxiety about job insecuritycomplicates existing depression and acts as a chronic stressor, withcumulativeeffectsovertime.

Cuts and Spin

The media reportage of the death of Donal Walsh exemplified the victim-blamingofthosesufferingfrommentalhealthproblems.Ithasbeensummedupinoneblogpostasfollows:“Fortheretobe‘strong’andworthyor‘inspirational’individualswith(orwithout)mental illness begs their shadow; unworthy wretches who are‘weak’, ‘uninspiring’,orwho ‘don’tbothertohelpthemselves’.Adiscussion of the structural causes of mental illness (e.g. personal debt, workplace stress, unemployment, racial discrimination,

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misogyny, homophobia, bullying, learning difficulties, sexualviolence,domesticviolence,etc.)isnoticeablyabsent–wedon’twanttoembarrassanyoneoranyparticularinstitution.”

There is alsoaneed todebunkGovernment spin justifyingcutsin the mental health sector. Moving mental health care away from institutionsandtowardscommunitycaremaybelaudableintheory.However, the reality is that this government is removing mental healthserviceswithoutputtingadequatecommunityframeworksin place.

One example of this has happened in Ballinasloe, Co Galway,where the closure ofmental health beds is being replaced notbyanadequatementalhealthemergencyteambutbyasolitarynurse.TheHealthandSafetyAuthority(HAS)hasbeencalledintoexamine the acute mental health services unit at University College HospitalGalway (UCHG) following a numberof tragic incidentsand persistent overcrowding.

The Psychiatric Nurses Association (PNA) has claimed that the government’s‘VisionforChange’planisfailingtodeliverforthepeople of South Tipperary as a result of a shortage of consultant psychiatric and junior doctors in mental health services. In an email inMmay2014,thePNAstatedthat“routineclinicsandassessmentswouldbecancelledandemergenciescoveredbyaconsultantoncallintheabsenceofconsultantpsychiatristcover”.

People in rural regions have higher completed suicide rates than the general population. This puts a particular emphasis on the importance of mental health resources in rural areas. The cuts to hospitalbeds inBallinasloeandRoscommonriskputtingfurtherstrain on already overcrowded resources in Galway City.

Conclusions

This report has tried to highlight some of the major issues relating tomentalhealth in Irelandat thepresent time:uncertaintyoverfigures, media portray of those with mental health, austerity and cuts.Yetthereismorewhichcanbedone.Itisalsonecessaryto

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discuss how youth mental health impacts on minorities such as theLGBTQcommunity,theTravellingcommunity,thoseinDirectProvision, etc.

For more information:

• WHO,Impactofeconomiccrisisonmentalhealth(2011).• Kien Hoe Ng, Mark Agius, and Rashid Zaman, “The globaleconomiccrisis:effectsonmentalhealthandwhatcanbedone”,JournaloftheRoyalSocietyofMedicine(2013)

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Precarious Work

Key Points

• Although there are protections against zero-hour contracts in Ireland, these do not apply to casual workers.

• Precariousworkersarelikelytobefemale,young,fromoutsideIreland, and to work in service or manual sectors.

• 20.7%ofIrishworkerscanberegardedaslowwage–wellaheadoftheEurozoneaverageof14.8%andtheEU’saverageof17%.

• When thegovernment talksabout jobcreation,howmanyofthosejobsarepart-time,temporary,andprecarious?

• InasurveyofMandatemembers(retailandbartrade),overaquarterofworkerssaidtheywouldlikemorecertaintyfromtheiremployer in relation to their working schedule.

Introduction

The International Metalworkers’ Federation (the other IMF) defines precarious work as “typically non-permanent, temporary, casual, insecure and contingent. Workers in these jobs are often notcoveredbylabourlawandsocialsecurityprotections.Precariouswork is causedbyemploymentpracticesdesigned tomaximiseemployerprofitsandflexibilityandtoshiftrisksontoworkers.”

DespiteitsprevalenceinIreland,therehasbeenverylittleresearchdone into precarious work or what it means for workers. This report aimstodrawtogethersomeofthecurrentlyavailableresourcestogive some image of what precarious work looks like in this country today.

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Precarious workers: young, female, and migrants

Turner and O’Sullivan conducted research into low-paid work in Ireland, using eligibility for a Joint Labour Committee (JLC) asthe threshold for low-paid work. A summary of their findings is reproduced at the end of this document. The figures show that the profile of a low paid worker is skewed away from the profile of the overalllabourmarketinthiscountry.

Lowpayishighlygendered:womenmakeup63%ofworkers inthe JLC rangedespitemaking up44%of the labour force. TheTurner and O’Sullivan data also show other workers who are over-represented in the low-paid range: employeeswithprimaryandsecondary level education (30%), the under-25s (43%), serviceand manual workers (75%), part-time workers (43%), and non-nationals (25%).

Low Pay

The current discourse on wages in Ireland portrays the country as having wages that are “too high”. This is inaccurate; Ireland is a low-pay economy.

Low-wage earners are defined as those whose hourly pay is less thantwo-thirdsofthemediannationalhourlywage.20.7%ofIrishworkersfallintothisbracket–wellaheadoftheEurozoneaverageof 14.8%andtheEU’saverageof 17%. In Ireland,peopleearningbelow€12.20anhourareconsideredasfallingbelowthelow-wagethreshold.

AccordingtoMichaelTaft,labourcostsintheprivatesectorwouldhavetorisebyover16%toreachtheaverageoftheotherEU-15countries.Theywouldhavetorisebyover26%toreachtheaverageoftheotherEU-15countrieswhichwerenotinthebailoutscheme.Labourcostswouldhavetoriseby44%toreachtheaverageofourpeergroup–othersmall,openeconomies(i.e.Austria,Belgium,Denmark and Sweden).

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Part-time underemployment

FiguresfromtheCSO’sQuarterlyNationalHouseholdSurveyshowthat precarious work is a major feature of the Irish economy and is ontherise.Despitegovernmentdeclarationsofjobcreationin2013,precarious work accounted for much of the total rise in employment last year. The number of full-time jobs actually decreased by6,000and theCSOadmitted that “part-timeunderemploymentincreasedovertheyear,up17,000or+12.3%to155,900.Part-timeunderemploymentrepresents34.3%oftotalpart-timeemploymenthavingbeen28.7%twoyearsearlier.”

ANERIreportonworkinghoursinIrelandbetween1992and2012found that while working hours for professionals have remained relativelystable,therewasapatternofdeclineinworkinghoursfor “relative low paid occupations”. The largest declines in average working hours were for service and sales workers and elementary occupations (which includes occupations such as cleaners, refuse workers,foodpreparationassistantsandlabourers inagricultureand industry), with declines of 9.6 and 8.6 hours respectively.The report states that “declines in working hours have occurred mostlywithin sectors andoccupations that are labour intensiveand associated with low pay”.

TheTurnerandO’Sullivanreportmentionedabovefoundthat,aswell as earning less per hour,workers in the JLC rangeworkedfewer hours per week, had fewer overtime hours and received a lowerremunerationforovertimehoursthanthoseabovetheJLCrange.

Zero-hour and short-term contracts

A zero-hour contract is a type of employment contract where “the employeeisavailableforworkbutdoesnothavespecifiedhoursofwork”.Employeesare,however,supposedtobeprotectedbythe Organisation of Working Time Act (1997). This would entitle themtocompensationfor25%ofthepossibleavailablehoursorfor 15 hours, whichever is less.

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For example, Worker X is on a zero-hour contract and usually works 20hoursperweekontheminimumwageforagrossweeklytotalof€173.IfWorkerXisrosteredfor20hoursoneweekbutendsupworkingnone, theyareentitled toonly€43.25 incompensation(25%of€173).

However, the Act does not apply to casual workers. According to CitizensInformation“there isnodefinitionof ‘casualemployees’inemploymentlaw.Inreality,casualworkersareonstandbytodoworkasrequiredwithoutfixedhoursorattendancearrangements.”

Due to the lack of research into low-paid and precarious work, there is no way to tell exactly how many people are on zero-hour contracts in Ireland. However, McDonalds has confirmed that over 90%ofits4,200non-managerialstaffinIrelandareemployedonzero-hourcontractsandhavebeensince1999.Domino’sPizzaalsoadmitted to using them for the “majority of the non-managerial or supervisorypositions”.BurgerKingdidnotrespondtoquestionsbyTheIrishIndependentaboutitsemploymentpractices,thoughit is known that 20,000 of its UK employees are on zero-hourcontracts.

Flexibility

In 2012 Mandate Trade Union, which represents over 45,000workersinthebarandretailtrade,commissionedasurveyofitsmembershipfromBehaviour&Attitudes.Thissurveyisoneofthefewsourcesofinformationavailableonworkinghoursintheretailsector or on precarious work in general.

Thereportnotesthat“onaverage,memberswork justunder26hoursaweek,withmenworkingalonger31.4hourweek,comparedto24.1hoursforwomen.Aswouldbeexpected,workinghoursarehighest for full-timeemployees,at36.3,whilepart-timeworkerswork22.1hours.Withanaverageof17.3hours,studentsworkthefewest hours.

“Thenumberofdaysaweekworkedvariesconsiderablyby thenature of the employment contract. An average full-time employee

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works on five days a week, a part-time worker on four days a week, and the average for students is three days.”

The report then goes on to highlight the high number of daysworkedperweek,considering the lownumberofhoursworkedbythosenotonfull-timecontracts.Itpointsoutthat40%ofpart-time employees work on five or more days a week. This can have a significantimpactasthenumberofdaysworkedperweekaffectseligibilityforsocialwelfare.

Overall,two-fifthsofMandatemembersstatedthattheiremployerschanged their weekly working hours at least once a month, with part-timeworkersexperiencingparticular instabilityas45%hadtheirhourschangedatleastonceamonthbytheiremployerandlessthanone-in-threehadstableworkingarrangements.30%offull-time workers had their hours changed at least once a month.

This lack of stability does not suit workers: over a quarter ofrespondents to the Mandate survey said they would like more certainty from their employer in relation to their working schedule, with part-time and student workers having the highest dissatisfaction.

Protection for precarious workers

One of the major factors of precarious work mentioned in the definition given by the Industrial Metal Workers above is thatprecariousworkersareoftenexcluded fromsocialbenefits.Thiscan happen due to the nature of the work. The experience of the Paris Bakery workers, who discovered their employer had notbeen paying PRSIwhen theywere told theywere ineligible forJobseekers’Benefit, demonstrates that it is also theposition asprecariousworkerswhichleavesthemvulnerabletoemployers.

TheresearchbyTurnerandO’Sullivanshowsthatlow-paidworkersare less likely to be unionised: only 14% are union members,compared to 25% of the general population. Precarious workers aresupposedlyprotectedbyJointLabourCommittees.

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Joint Labour Committees are “tripartite statutory bodies withemployer and union representative and an independent chair. They propose minimum wage rates and conditions for workers which aremadelegallybindingforareaswherecollectivebargainingispoorly developed and pay relatively low such as in hotels, catering, security, contract cleaning and retail”.

As part of the 2010 IMF deal, the then-Government committedto reforming the National Minimum Wage and carrying out an independent reviewof theJLCsystem.JLCsweresuspended in2011afteraconstitutionalchallengebyemployersinthecateringsector.In2012legislationwasbroughtintoallowforaLabourCourtruling,whichwasmade inOctober2013.At theendofJanuary2014 the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, RichardBrutonTD,announcedchangestotheJLCsinlinewiththeLabourCourt recommendations. This involved the abolition of JLCs forDublinhotelsandforlawclerksaswellasthereformofJLCsforhotels(non-DublinandCork),contractcleaners,hairdressing,andsecurity.

Itremainstobeseenhowthisjudgementwillplayout.

Conclusion

HasprecariousworkbecomethenewnormalforyouthinIreland?Itcertainlyseemsso,thoughtowhatextentthisisbeingacceptedcanbeseeninthenumbersemigratingfromthecountrybecauseof pay and conditions (as discussed in the report on emigration).

Bothgovernmentandemployerstrytopaintprecariousworkasa returntorecoveryandeffortsaremadetopresentprecariousworkasapositiveforworkers.ButtheresponsesreportedintheMandate survey ofmembers demonstrates thatworkers do notsupport temporary and uncertain working conditions. And the increasing prevalence of in-work poverty demonstrates the impact that low paid, precarious work has on families.

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For More Information:

• MichaelTaft,“Canitreallybethisgood?”,Unite’sNotesontheFront,30May2013.

• CSOQuarterlyNationalHouseholdSurvey• Thomas Turner and Michelle O’Sullivan, “Economic crisis and the restructuring of wage setting mechanisms for vulnerableworkersinIreland”,TheEconomicandSocialReview(Summer2013),pp.197-219.

• Camille Loftus, Decent work? The impact of the recession on lowpaidwork:areportforMandateTradeUnion(2012).

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Unemployment

Key Points

• Youthunemploymenthoveredaround9%throughoutthe2000sandleapedtojustunder30%in2009.

• Youthunemploymenthasbeenabouttwicethegeneralrateofunemployment for over a decade.

• Thereare28.5applicantsforeachavailablepost.• 85%of 18-24 years olds on the LiveRegister havepreviously

worked.• Theyouthpovertyratein2013was41.6%• Unemployment figures are being massaged through the useoftheLiveRegisterratherthantheQNHSandtheexclusionofeducation-andlabouractivation-schemesfromunemploymentfigures.

Introduction

Unemploymenthaslongbeenrecognisedasaneconomic,socialand political malice. Alongside wider economic effects such asreduced government revenue, economic activity, declining income and consumer demand, unemployment is strongly associated with increased poverty and social deprivation. Linked to this is the damagetocommunitiesdonebyreducedresourcesandsupportsystems and the damage done to individuals and families in terms ofmentalhealthandphysicalwell-being.

Unemployment is not a lifestyle choice; it is a failure of government policy and, most importantly, a failure of an economic and social system. This document looks at figures, impact and policies around

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unemploymentintheRepublicofIreland,withaparticularfocuson young people and youth unemployment.

Unemployment figures

Irish unemployment figures are extremely high, especially considering that emigration, education and labour activationschemes artistically deflate the figures. Even the most cursory comparison with the unemployment figures throughout the years ofeconomicboom(andbubble)showthatpeoplehavenotchosento become unemployed. The current unemployment figures arethe product of near-economic collapse, austerity and a downward economic cycle.

AsofQuarter12014,overallunemploymentstandsat12.03%.

InJanuary2001unemploymentwas3.7%.Significantly,only32.6%of the unemployed were categorised as long-term unemployed (longer than 12 months). This means that long-term unemployment attheheightoftheboomwascloseto1.2%ofthelabourforce.

The data reproduced from TradingEconomics.com show that throughoutthe2000s,unemploymentdidnotreachabove5%.Intheperiod2009-2014,unemploymenthasstayedabove10%andhitahighof15.1%inFebruary2012.

A recent Oireachtas report on youth unemployment has stated that“theyouthunemploymentrateinIrelandbegantorisesharplyin2007,from9.1%to24%in2009.Itcontinuedtoincreasesteadilyto30.4%in2012.TheyouthunemploymentrateintheEU28also

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roseduringthisperiod,butatafarslowerrateandfromahigherbase,from15.8%in2008,to20.2%in2009,to23%in2012.”

In this context, the unemployed – and particularly the youngunemployed–haveveryfewoptions.In2013-2014therearestill28.5applicantsforeachjobavailable.

Social supports and attacks on the young

At the beginning of the crisis, different rates of Jobseeker’sAllowancebasedonagewerebroughtinforthefirsttime.Thoseaged 18-24 received €100 a week, those aged 22-24 received€144aweek,andat25yearsofagejobseekersreceivedthefullentitlementof€188aweek.

Inbudget2014,Jobseeker’sAllowancewascutfornewentrantsafterJanuary2014.Allnewentrantsaged18-24nowreceive€100perweekandindividualswhoare25receive€144perweek.At26years of age, claimants receive the full entitlement.

AccordingtoNERI,“thestatedaim[ofthecuts]wasto‘ensurethatyoungpeoplearebetteroffineducation,employmentortrainingthanclaiming’, and theGovernmenthopes to save€32million”.This statement is a direct indication that unemployment claims are

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perceivedbytheGovernmenttobeachoicebyyoungpeople.Thisbeliefiscontradictedbythefacts:thehighnumberofapplicantsperavailablejob(mentionedabove);that82%ofindividualsintheStateaged18-24arenotclaimingsocialwelfare;and85%of18-24yearsoldsontheLiveRegisterhavepreviouslyworked.

Social welfare cuts, especially in a time of high unemployment and economic recession, are devastating. The poverty figure in the generalpopulationcurrentlystandsat29.4%.Between2006and2013,youthpovertydoubledto41.8%. Jobseekerspaymentsof€100/weekareinnowayadequatetocovercosts,suchastransport,rent,andsustenance.ItisthereforeentirelypossiblethatcutstoJobseeker’sAllowancearereducingtheabilitytofindwork.

There is class and regional discrimination to the cuts. Such low levels of state assistance indicate the assumption that young people canbesupportedbyfamily.However,thisisclearlynotpossibleincasesoflowfamilyincomeorhighdebt.Again,socialwelfarecutssimply compound poverty and limit opportunity.

Fudging the numbers

Major attempts are being made to deflate the unemploymentfigures. This happens through the use of emigration, but moreimportantly through the exclusion of education- and labouractivation- schemes from the unemployment figures.

OnemajorproblemistheuseoftheLiveRegisterdespitetheclearstatementfromtheCSOthat“theLiveRegisterisnotdesignedtomeasureunemployment”.Forexample,theLiveRegisterrecorded413,600peopleassigningoninSeptember2013(13.3%).Butthisnumberisinaccurateasitincludescasualandpart-timeworkerswhileexcludingthoseonactivationprogrammeslikeJobBridgeorCE schemes.

Compounding this issue is the fact that the reasons why a claimant left theLiveRegister is not represented. Itwasannounced thatbetweenOctober2012andSeptember2013407,000hadlefttheLiveRegister.However,when abreakdownof the numberswas

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releasedbyMinisterforSocialProtection,JoanBurtonTD,itwasshownthatalmost36%ofthosewholefttheliveregisterhadbeenforcedtostopclaimingbecausetheywerenolongerentitledtounemployedbenefit(whichcanonlybeclaimedforamaximumof12monthsbasedonthedurationofpreviouswork).30,000statedtheyhadjoinedlabouractivationandeducationschemesandonlyone-third said they had actually found work.

Insteadof using the LiveRegister, analysis of unemployment inIreland should instead use the Quarterly National HouseholdSurvey.However,eventhismeasureisnotwithoutfault:InMarch2014MinisterofState,PaulKehoeTD,explainedinaparliamentaryquestionthatJobBridge(aswellasotheractivationschemeslikeTUS)areclassifiedasemployedintheQuarterlyNationalHouseholdSurvey.

In this manner, unemployment figures are artificially reduced withoutthecreationofeffectiveandsustainableemployment.

Conclusions

This document has shown that unemployment is due to a jobscrisis, not a lifestyle crisis. The jobs crisis has far-reaching anddevastatingeffects,anditisyoungpeoplewhoareonthefrontline.Effortstoconfrontthejobscrisis,suchasdolecutsandclaimsofimprovementandprogress,havebeendisingenuousatbestandmalicious at worst. They have instead heightened poverty and insecurity, laid an attack on working conditions, massaged the figures,andcompoundedratherthantackledtheworsteffectsofunemployment.

ForMoreInformation:

• NERI Research in Brief, Do the young unemployed need theincentiveofreducedsocialwelfare?(November2013).

• CSO• EuroStat

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