What does it tell us Tim?
How many non nationals are in the country?
Im married to 3 of them
11 Likes
And none of them work?
Well thereās a couple of things. Firstly the rate that non nationals became unemployed outstripped the general population (approx 10k at the lowest to 75k at the highest vs. 140k to 390k). This is likely due to many non nationals being in the construction trade and non skilled economy so is understandable. Secondly, many of them wouldnāt have a mother or father in Ireland that they could move back home with and go back to college to get them off the live register. I would expect though that given their comparative lack of ties to the place, that many to have moved off to economies picking up.
Secondly in terms of decline, the number still on the live register is 3 times the number of pre recessional levels. Thatās a slower rate of decline for non nationals versus nationals.
Thereās welfare fraud on all sides, but the numbers signing on in the summer months is interesting. But my overall point would be that Ireland is obviously not an unattractive place for people to live with generous welfare rates not driving people away.
What further points to that for me is the numbers of under 25s versus over 25s on the live register vs the pre recession;
Weāre practically at pre recession numbers now for under 25s, where as for older persons we are still a long way to go on fixing the problem. Thereās a couple of offsetting factors here, obviously younger people are still more able to emigrate than their older countrymen, but at the same time, Ireland still has the youngest population in Europe. Additionally younger people are more likely to be adaptable to the changes in the jobs market demands of employers, with a concerted effort to get more into sciences in recent years. It is not like though that over 25s donāt have similar opportunities though, upskilling in Ireland is very achievable with the various government programmes about the place.
IMO, for all of the slating she got, Joan Burtonās policy of cutting the dole for the young has forced many of them back to work.
A little more of that on the older section of the population could go a long way to bringing that figure down as well.
1 Like
They have to reduce the cost of living before cutting the dole. While dole may seem high when compared with other countries in isolation, the cost of living for people on the dole is far higher in Ireland.
I canāt see them reducing the price of drink and fags.
1 Like
Sky sports are greedy cunts ok .
1 Like
The rate that we pay as standard far outstrips our OECD counterparts, when COL is standardised. If you compare the UK to here there is a huge difference, even if you ignore sterling tanking in the last year.
The biggest issue with our welfare versus the āNordic Modelā countries is that we do not provide the same level of assistance to people when they initially are made unemployed.
1 Like
Does this take into account the cost of living though? VAT is a fifth higher than the international average. We pay top dollar for petrol/diesel, insurance costs and rent. Would the rise in homeless numbers not suggest people on the dole have it anything but easy?
Thatās what I just said.
It isnāt but anyway, would Irelandās current rise in the number of homeless people be similar to other OECD countries and if not, why not?
Eh it is ffs. 
Ireland ranks, again, low enough for this stat.
The UK, US, Australia, Sweden, French and Germans have a bigger ratio. We are quite close to Norwegian and Danish levels, as a matter of fact.
I know you hate statistics (as you are a dreary, āIreland is the worst place on earth typeā) and all but thatās the truth.
You said what we pay in dole far outstrips OECD counterparts. Nowhere does it state in that sentence that the cost of living is taken into account. If thatās what you meant, fair enough.
In a recent survey Dublin came in as the 25th most expensive city to live in. Ireland has the 5th highest cost of living in the EU. This obviously is playing a major part in the rise in homeless numbers. Have the OECD a table on levels of homelessness for participating countries?
The dole would go a long way in askeaton or mohill compared to Dublin
1 Like
Could you draw the dole if homeless or does it get tricky with no fixed address?
What do you think COL meant?
1 Like