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Irish economy is 'leaving behind far too many for far too long'

An OECD report published yesterday was critical of attempts to reduce long-term and youth unemployment in Ireland.

THE OECD HAS been critical of Ireland’s efforts to reduce long-term and youth unemployment, saying that the economy is “leaving behind far too many for far too long”.

In a report, the OECD said that, although recovery is reducing unemployment, this is likely to be a gradual process, and people having been unemployed for a long time risk being marginalised and discouraged.

The proportion of young people who are long-term unemployed has increased from 21 per cent in 2007 to close to 50 per cent in 2012.

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Emigration of young workers, skill mismatches and rising inactivity all threaten growth in the years ahead, the report warned.

In particular, persistent long-term unemployment may translate into structural unemployment and contribute to a lost generation of young talent.

Of particular concern, it pointed out, is that 20 per cent of children are living in households where no one works. This is the highest proportion in the EU indicating serious risks of the persistence of social exclusion.

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The report commented that entering the labour market at the current juncture is especially challenging for disadvantaged youth such as school dropouts, young individuals from immigrant background, those living in workless households and those suffering from disabilities.

An increase in the long-term unemployment rate and dependency on social welfare has been linked to a rise in mental health issues, drug and alcohol abuse, and an increase in criminal behaviour among young people. However, to date the consumption of alcohol, tobacco, cannabis and other drugs by Irish youths does not stand out in international perspective and there is no significant evidence of an increase in youth crime.

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Nevertheless, Ireland has one of the highest rates of suicide among youth in Europe, specially for young males and in historical perspective, a link between the unemployment rate and the male suicide rate in younger age groups has been established for Ireland. The OECD said this “demands an increased focus on prevention policies”.

Though the OECD said that “multiple steps in the right direction are being made, it said current plans leave the long-term unemployed without appropriate activation support.

Thus, there is a high risk that these people will be simply left behind as permanent casualties of the recession as new and better qualified jobseekers, including immigrants, take advantage of the recovery.

In its recommendations the report said that policies need to focus more on supporting the long-term unemployed, ensuring people receive appropriate training for the labour market and are not caught in welfare traps.

Read: OECD: Irish economy recovering but government must stick to targets>

Read: Long-term unemployed man “at a loss” after college course cancelled>

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    Mute Barry Somers
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    May 5th 2022, 8:59 PM

    If what they UK is planning to do is legal as they claim then surely they should not fear anyone taking a case against it?

    Of course we all suspect that its not legally sound.

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    Mute Kevin Farrell
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    May 6th 2022, 3:48 AM

    @Larry O Reilly: Yes, send all those Ukrainians home!

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    Mute Larry O Reilly
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    May 6th 2022, 10:02 AM

    @Kevin Farrell: no one mentioned Ukrainian only you difference in people fleeing a war or economical refugee looking for a free ride

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    Mute Kevin Farrell
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    May 6th 2022, 2:24 PM

    @Larry O Reilly: Exactly – no one mentioned Ukrainians. I guess the difference is they have white skin, whereas the other people fleeing war and persecution have brown or black skin.

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    Mute Don Hogan
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    May 5th 2022, 10:03 PM

    The Raj is still alive in Britain.

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    Mute Paul Lee
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    May 5th 2022, 11:16 PM

    How bloody dare do those lawyers check if it’s legal! Outrageous!

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    Mute John O Mahony
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    May 6th 2022, 2:36 AM

    Typical Johnson nothing but a bully

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    Mute Don Hogan
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    May 5th 2022, 10:03 PM

    The Raj is still alive in Britain.

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    Mute Don Hogan
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    May 5th 2022, 10:03 PM

    The Raj is still alive in Britain.

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    Mute Darren Callaghan
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    May 5th 2022, 11:07 PM

    @Don Hogan: heard u first time

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    Mute Ally Collyer
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    May 5th 2022, 11:41 PM

    @Don Hogan: It’s naff all to do with “the Raj”. Britain has had enough of these illegal migrants. The French appear to encourage their passage across the water. None of them can possibly be genuine refugees, otherwise they would have stayed in the first safe country to the one they have fled from.
    There are about 67 million people living on mainland Britain. There is barely 6 million here.
    Where is the UK supposed to house all these people? The UK has a housing crisis as does this country. Imagine thousands of migrants landing on the shores of Ireland, week in week out!

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    Mute David F. Dwyer
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    May 6th 2022, 1:30 AM

    @Ally Collyer: So basically you want Mediterranean countries like Greece and Italy to be a buffer between the Middle East/Africa and Britain? You do realise that puts a tremendous strain on said Med nations to have to manage all refugees fleeing whatever disaster/persecution in their home countries. Why shouldn’t the Brits have to do their part, just because of geography? They took more than their fair share from most of the world’s nations when they had an empire, and left them in worse shape because of it.

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    Mute Kevin Farrell
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    May 6th 2022, 3:47 AM

    @Ally Collyer: That’s a terrible way to treat Ukrainian’s fleeing the war. And just because they didn’t stay in the first safe country the arrived in after leaving Ukraine!

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    Mute Mickey Finn
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    May 6th 2022, 8:17 AM

    @Ally Collyer: For arguments sake, let’s consider them as economic migrants, not refugees. Migrants have a net economic benefit for industrialised economies by boosting the working age population and pay more in taxes than they recieve in benefits (OECD). Housing crises are caused by not building enough housing. I suspect the main reason they don’t want them is that they’re foreign, which I understand, as none of us like change.

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    Mute Larry O Reilly
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    May 6th 2022, 10:01 AM

    @Kevin Farrell: ah, no one took you bait, nobody talking about Ukrainians with the exception of you,shows your leave of intelligence

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    Mute Kevin Farrell
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    May 6th 2022, 2:31 PM

    @Larry O Reilly: Ah yes, exactly, nobody talking about Ukrainians. Because they have white skin. @Ally Collyer stated:

    “None of them can possibly be genuine refugees, otherwise they would have stayed in the first safe country to the one they have fled from.”

    Well, Ukrainians fleeing the war in their country didn’t stay in the “first safe country to the one they have fled from” did they? So, by @Ally Collyer definition they can’t be genuine refugees… or does that only apply to people with brown or black skin?

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