LABOUR CONFERENCE 2013
Creating Opportunities and Support through Social Protection
Speech by Joan Burton T.D.
Deputy Leader and Minister for Social Protection
Friday, 29th November 2013
Fellow delegates,
As we gather here tonight, it’s with the good news that 58,000 people have returned to work in the last year.
These are new jobs being created by a government with Labour at its heart.
When we took office, it was to rescue this country from the ruin to which Fianna Fail had led it.
Working collectively, we focused on stabilising the economy and exiting the bailout.
The deficit reduction programme was, and remains, necessary – we simply had to get our public finances in shape.
But we in Labour were determined to do it in the fairest way possible.
That is why, as Social Protection Minister, I have focused on transforming the Department from the passive benefits provider of old to an active and engaged employment service.
Why? Because getting people back to work is the best way of reducing welfare spending while protecting the core welfare safety net.
The recent Budget is the best example.
Precisely because so many people are getting back to work, we were able to reduce by €150 million the spending reductions required of the Department in the Budget.
It meant we were able to protect the State pension, Carer’s Allowance, Disability Allowance and other core weekly rates, as well as Child Benefit.
So helping people back to work serves a crucial dual purpose:
People returning to employment have the opportunity to build a better future for themselves and their families.
And the welfare bill is reduced in a positive way that means core supports for those most in need can be protected.
The growing number of people at work will boost tax revenues too, and create the room for investment in essential services.
But there remain too many people out of work, and so tackling unemployment will remain Labour’s priority in government for the foreseeable future.
That is why we have introduced the Pathways to Work strategy, focusing on activation – which means helping jobseekers back to work, training and education.
That is why we are rolling out the new-style social welfare “Intreo” offices – where jobseekers don’t just get income support, but also get employment supports.
That is why we will spend more than €1 billion next year on work, training and education places for jobseekers.
That is also why we have introduced schemes like JobsPlus, the wage subsidy scheme for employers.
Since its launch in July, that scheme has already supported the creation of more than 1,000 jobs.
Labour is the Party of Work, and the party of progressive politics.
The central purpose of progressive politics is to ensure that people achieve their innate potential and reach the full extent of their capabilities.
The best way for our young people to reach their potential is through decent, secure and fairly paid work.
Research has shown that a spell of unemployment when young can leave permanent scars.
This is because it can continue to impact negatively on a person up to two decades later in terms of poorer health, lower wages, less job satisfaction or persistent unemployment.
The recovery we are leading has seen a fall in the youth unemployment rate – from 31% to 26.5% over the last year.
But of course, that remains far too high.
And that is why I placed such a major emphasis during Ireland’s EU presidency on negotiating the Youth Guarantee.
The premise of the Guarantee is simple – to ensure that young people under 25 receive a good-quality offer of employment, continued education, an apprenticeship or a traineeship within four months of becoming unemployed or leaving formal education.
The Guarantee will be introduced across the EU next year.
It will be introduced on a phased basis in Ireland and a number of other member states facing particularly acute financial constraints.
But it will be a significant step in support of our young people – who will be central to this country’s future success.
We are now working on a plan to roll-out the Guarantee in 2014 and secure as much EU funding as possible for it.
The Guarantee, combined with the focus on moving from passive income support to employment support, will provide greater opportunities for young jobseekers.
I believe the Guarantee will make a real difference to the many talented young people who are innocent victims of the boom-to-bust legacy and who are exasperated by the lack of opportunities to match their ambition.
In conclusion, we are making progress – sure and steady progress – and getting people back to work.
The challenge now is to continue this progress and ensure the new economy works for families rather than financiers – with full employment and a fair wage the central goals.
I am determined that Social Protection will play a crucial role in meeting those targets, while at the time protecting the welfare safety net for those who need it most.