Sinn Féin TD Pearse Doherty has called on Social Protection Minister Joan Burton to clarify if it is the policy of her department to seek low paid jobs abroad for unemployed Irish people.
Deputy Doherty was speaking today after being contacted by a 60-year-old constituent who had been notified by the minister’s department of a bus drivers’ job in Malta paying €250 a week.
He said “I find it outrageous that a government department would ask a 60-year-old man with a mortgage to apply for a job in Malta that pays lower than the minimum wage here. If the man were to get the job he would have obvious extra costs such as rent and travel while trying to pay his mortgage at home.
“Even the promise of a tan in the ‘typically Mediterranean’ climate could not make this job a viable option for this man.
“Minister Burton must clarify if it is the policy of her department to seek low paid jobs abroad for unemployed Irish workers. Is the government now actively encouraging emigration?
“It is my understanding that there are 200 positions available at the company referred to in the letter from the Department of Social Welfare. How many more unemployed people have been encouraged to apply for these low paid jobs?
“I will be raising this issue directly with the minister at the earliest opportunity.”
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