SPEAKING AS A MIGRANT WORKER in Ireland, I can answer Seamus Brennan's often-asked question of why 100,000 immigrants found work in Ireland while 150,000 Irish remain unemployed. The answer is simple and admittedly a sweeping statement--many of the 150,000 unemployed have a brilliant working knowledge of their entitlements and benefits since they have grown up in the knowledge of expecting them. Once they've budgeted their lifestyles within the breadbasket provided by the State, they don't wish to interrupt the flow by trying their luck in a competitive job market. Said another way, Ireland's social welfare system takes care of its own.
Some on the Live Register might have found work during the past year since immigration clearly showed jobs were easily available to those who sought them. Part of the reason that some Irish on the Live Register don't take the jobs they find is that some retraining and possibly lower salaries await them when they take up new work. The same mental stress faced natives in Germany when I lived there. The unemployment benefits encouraged people to sit and wait for higher paying positions rather than downshifting to avail of employment offered immediately.
One of the beauties of living in a free society is the freedom of choice availed to its citizenry. I freely give up a portion of my monthly income to facilitate others in their freedom of choice when deciding whether to take up employment. If they need a few years to sort themselves out, then I'll keep paying them to maintain their focus. And if their focus is to be long-term unemployed, I'll pay them for that choice.
In the meantime, we need to keep up the flow of migrant workers, and perhaps give those like myself a proper Green Card after a minimum set period. That political decision is less fraught with criticism from the Opposition than making it more difficult to stay on the dole. History shows that truly civilised societies need to foster a well-feed percentage of its populace drawing subsistence from the dole.
Michael O'Farrell -- "Why are 150,000 jobless?"
