Danny Healy-Rae opposes privatisation of local employment services
Danny Healy-Rae spoke in a debate brought by Sinn Fein and Deputy Clare Curran, arguing against plans to privatise local employment services. He said he will support the motion and warned that profit-driven providers would harm vulnerable jobseekers and staff.
Motion and position
Danny Healy-Rae opened by thanking Sinn Fein and Deputy Clare Curran for the motion and stated clearly that he will support it. He argued that services that were "good enough" should not be abandoned in favour of a profit-driven model.
Concerns about profit-driven services
He warned that when services are run for profit the people who suffer most are those on the margins seeking employment. He said the move to privatise local employment services risks making outcomes worse, not better, for people trying to get back to work.
Personal example of hardship
He recounted a case of a young man who had to thumb 30 miles to Tlea every Monday from his home in Noctagashle, walking along a dangerous road to present himself and seek help for more than 12 months. He used this example to illustrate the "torture" and barriers some clients face under pressured systems.
Impact on staff and local access
He said staff in local employment centres are understandably worried about losing their jobs if centres are privatised. He also warned that the Minister's suggestion that LES and job clubs can "tinder for the new model" would price many local providers out of the new system, reducing walk-in access for people without referrals.
Past failures cited
He pointed to previous privatisation attempts in job activation, citing a "disaster job scheme" that he said has cost close to $300,000 since 2015. He argued the local employment service provides a more holistic community-based service than a standard profit-driven provider.
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I too want to thank Sinn Fein and Deputy Clare Curran for bringing this very timely motion for us to speak in it tonight and indeed I will be supporting this motion as I honestly feel that the services that we had were good enough, maybe in times they could be better, but I am very worried that what we will get will be worse. And when something is for profit, I am afraid that the people that will suffer are the people who are under margins and who are seeking employment and trying to get going and we all know how many people are fixed after the virus and the lockdown and indeed many people have recovered from the breakdown of the economy in 2008 or 2009 and still need assistance and I say to the Minister, when something was working well enough, why don't we leave it alone? I will just give you an example of a company that was employed to deal with people to try to get them back to work, but in reality what they were about was to get people off the door regardless and they made it impossible for them. I know of one young man and he was about 30 miles from Tlea out on the side of the hill in Noctagashle and he used to have to thumb every Monday morning from his house and along the side of the main dangerous road where many people have been killed and go into Tlea every Monday morning to present himself and to prove what he was after doing or who he was after asking. who he was after asking to get employment for. That went on for more than 12 months and the torture that that poor young fella went through, many people would not understand it only if it stood where he lived and where he had to go into Tlea every Monday morning. However, I believe that the government should now abandon the plans to privatise local employment services. Staff currently employed in these centres are understandably extremely worried about the prospect of losing their jobs. It will also send in to people walking in without referral because many people do not and that is how they work. The Minister has repeatedly said that it is open for LES and job clubs to tinder for the new model, but the majority will be priced out from this tindering service. We have seen in the past where privatisation of job activities like the disaster job scheme have failed and that particular scheme has cost close to $300,000 since 2015. The local employment service is and was a vital service in communities across the country. It is a far more holistic service than a standard profit-driven employment service. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
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