Jobseeker' Benefit inadequate to meet basic standard of living

[myksav]

I guess 'poverty' means
not being able to afford to put food on the kids' dinner table ...
after paying out for the basic necessities of life like
-Fags
-Beer in the pub
-Holidays
-Sky premier sports subscription
-The kids iPhone accounts
-Internet account for the Playstation / Wii

No one in Ireland is poor!

Your kids have their own dinner table? And they have IPhones??

Wow!! Posh.

[TropicalCandy]

Your kids have their own dinner table? And they have IPhones??

Wow!! Posh.

Dunno where he gets the idea that you need a seperate internet account for the playstaion either... or that ditching Sky sports would end your poverty..

[myksav]

Dunno where he gets the idea that you need a seperate internet account for the playstaion either... or that ditching Sky sports would end your poverty..

Seperate internet accounts for game consoles? Better let my nephews know about that.

What is this Sky sports he mentioned?? Oh wait, that's that boring Murdoch yoke, yes?

[Odyessus]

I must have been the only one the last two years who coudn't afford to buy my own food then. Didn't realize how bad I had it.

So what did you eat then, stones?

[TropicalCandy]

So what did you eat then, stones?

I had to borrow, a lot of money and skimp food from others, share lunches with mates etc, and some days I just didn't eat more than once, and the odd day not at all.

[markcolenn]

society needs to learn that living off other people (workers ) should not be a life choice and that any help you get will be short term and meant to keep you and your family alive not live a life comparable to somebody working

[myksav]

society needs to learn that living off other people (workers ) should not be a life choice and that any help you get will be short term and meant to keep you and your family alive not live a life comparable to somebody working

I wonder what part of losing your job is a life choice.

Is that you, Joan Burton?

[Harmonica]

society needs to learn that living off other people (workers ) should not be a life choice and that any help you get will be short term and meant to keep you and your family alive not live a life comparable to somebody working

True. I remember O'Cuiv boasting about how much he spent as Minister for Social Welfare & not what he did with the 20 billion. The success of a welfare program should not be the money spent but the number of people successfully moved off welfare. We can see the same problem with FAS where there is little focus on successfully targetting training at people to move them off welfare.

I think everyone accepts people can go through bad times & the state should be there to assist them to recover but any welfare program that does not remove long term dependency is a complete failure.

[Druidess]

I have great sympathy with those who hve lost their jobs recently and have to rely on jobseekers benefit. I dont think anyone begrudges them state support at this time.

A distinction needs to be drawn between the above and professional welfare heads, who rely on welfare and have no intention or incentive to get off it. A fantastic opportunity to deal with this problem during the boom, when there was so called full employment (in other words 4% still unemployed) was missed. Unfortunately you can gripe all you want, but jobs are not available right now and the long term unemployed have almost nil chance of getting jobs. What will happen is that those with the skills that make them welcome in places like Australia and Canada will of course leave where possible. The long term, multi generational welfare heads will always be with us unless welfare entitlement is radically altered.

[Binze]

I have great sympathy with those who hve lost their jobs recently and have to rely on jobseekers benefit. I dont think anyone begrudges them state support at this time.

A distinction needs to be drawn between the above and professional welfare heads, who rely on welfare and have no intention or incentive to get off it. A fantastic opportunity to deal with this problem during the boom, when there was so called full employment (in other words 4% still unemployed) was missed. Unfortunately you can gripe all you want, but jobs are not available right now and the long term unemployed have almost nil chance of getting jobs. What will happen is that those with the skills that make them welcome in places like Australia and Canada will of course leave where possible. The long term, multi generational welfare heads will always be with us unless welfare entitlement is radically altered.