I think the ESRI probably have a fair idea of how expensive this country is.

And btw, you could use your argument to justify a decrease in social welfare, as wages are not going to go up anytime soon.

Seeing as they seem to be obsessed with the social welfare system across the water, they’re probably also listening to Norman Tebbit. ;)

Probably not. As usual another exercise in comparing apples and oranges by a think tank. The reality is that for certain categories of the unemployed, unskilled to semi-skilled, with families of three children or more finding employment that improves their standard of living is very difficult. Of course, there is also percentage of claimants who while ‘unemployed’ manage drive year old vehicles and seem to have no shortage of consumer goods in their homes.

read the fu*king report: http://www.esri.ie/UserFiles/publications/WP395/jacb201155.pdf

oops, seems like they did: (taken from the report)
“First, the Rent and Mortgage Supplement scheme rules out those who are in full‐time employment,
with no corresponding support for those in low‐paid employment. Second, the
medical card scheme is also of an “all‐or‐nothing” nature. The proposals of the
Expert Group on Resource Allocation and Financing in the Health Sector (2010)
involved a tapering of entitlements which could avoid the sharp loss often associated
with moving from unemployment into employment.”

Chalk and cheese; different currencies, different costs of living, different tax regime and different pay rates to match.

After bills I only have about fifty euro left to feed myself a week. So how is it too high? And no I’m not just sitting on my arse. When I lost my job a couple of years back I went to college to up skill like the government told us.

@Paul. I hate to break it to you but there is more to the world than the UK. Look at the overall packages in countries like Holland etc, which are very generous compared to here, they are bailing us out. Ireland is an exceptionally expensive country.

Also from an economics point of view, the dole money is circulated in to the local economy straight away. Local businesses get a cut, they spend it in other businesses, the Govt. gets vat. etc.

When the dole is cut watch a swath of small businesses close across this country but then again that will suit a lot of the larger ones that have so much influence with Govt.

There does need to be reform of Social Welfare, I am very much opposed to the on the dole for life, it destroys communities and lives, in most of the Social democracies of Europe it is not tolerated and they have better economies for it, they also do not tolerate or entertain the loohlah economics of FG/FF/PD’s which have broken this state 4 times in 90 years and given us mass unemployment so that their friends and crony’s could be protected.

If this state wants to look at savings in welfare, look at the 7bn a year that goes in pension tax breaks, over 70% of which goes to a couple of thousand individuals.

Even a fraction of that money, put aside, to fund new start ups by now unemployed people could be transformative.

Sorry Tony, please explain

“If this state wants to look at savings in welfare, look at the 7bn a year that goes in pension tax breaks, over 70% of which goes to a couple of thousand individuals.”

7,000,000,000 x 70% = 4900000000 / 2000 = €2,450,000 tax breaks per annum, per person. If that’s correct I may even join SF.

TV3/3e Documentary…..

Now theres an Oxymoron if ever I’ve seen one!

cant believe you’re comparing a professional long respected institution concerned with economic analysis staffed by some of the best academics in the country with tv3!! good man, i bet you use your vote intelligently!

So Simon in effect what you’re saying is the government should ignore the scientifically obtained facts and act instead on the views of some TV documentary producer, and the prejudices of a random number, because we’re ignoring the science, of the population.