Labour spokesman worried by increase of people on the live register
The Labour Party spokesperson on Enterprise, Trade and Employment has said the latest unemployment figures are a major cause of concern.
New data from the Central Statistics Office show an increase of more than 8,000 in the numbers on the live register over the past six months.
The figures show that almost 45,000 people have been unemployed for more than a year.
Ruairi Quinn of Labour said it's a worrying trend, adding, “I think we have to ask ourselves the question, ‘what is it that's happening to them, why are they in that state and what can we do to reach out to them and either give them the necessary skills that they require to get the jobs that are out there?’”
Deputy Quinn also said an alternative would be to facilitate the unemployed into new forms of social or community employment programmes that will give them the dignity of work if they don't have the skills required to get a place in the active labour market.
