Kerry councillor calls for changes in work scheme to ease severe unemployment in west Kerry

By Alastair Tibbs, The Kerryman

A Kerry councillor has called for shake up in a government scheme to ease chronic unemployment issues in west Kerry.

Councillor Robert Brosnan said the government’s Community Employment (CE) scheme is useless to many of the unemployed residents on the Dingle peninsula.

The initiative is designed for people who have been unemployed long-term and helps them return to work by offering part-time and temporary placements within local communities.

Cllr Brosnan said the intention of the CE Scheme is welcome, but its restrictions mean many in west Kerry are missing out.

The basic requirement is that applicants have been unemployed for over 12 months, whereas seasonal workers in Dingle and other Kerry tourist hotspots are usually only out of work for three to nine months.

As the tourist season ends every autumn, hundreds of residents are put out of work, and many apply for job seekers allowance.

While the national scheme clearly isn’t aimed at seasonal workers, with a little local recalibration Cllr Brosnan believes it could benefit the labour-scarce area enormously.

The Dingle peninsula is chronically short of gardeners, caretakers, bus drivers and other public service workers.

Courses for bus drivers could be subsided via the CE scheme to address the lack of available drivers on the peninsula, said Cllr Brosnan.

He also cites Dingle town park, which he said is often littered and extra hands are always needed.

In August, Dingle Harbour was named one of the most littered coastal areas in Ireland by the Irish Business Against Litter League.

Rubbish was found in the harbour water and rock armour, as well as “pronounced” levels of cigarette butts in the parking area.

Cllr Brosnan pointed to a lack of community groups to combat litter in these public spaces and said the CE scheme could help again there.

However, with all this considered, one issue with the initiative still remains.

The scheme’s basic wage, which requires participants to work at least 19.5 hours a week, pays only €27.50 more than job seekers allowance. Cllr Brosnan said the payment needs to be increased to incentivise people onto the initiative.